It seems not all Russian soldiers injured while taking part in the invasion of Ukraine are receiving financial compensation as promised by Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a report in Russian state media.
The reason for this seems to be due to a lack of proper paperwork and diagnoses from military officials.
According to a report shared by the Russian state media outlet RIA, a soldier who suffered injuries was diagnosed officially by doctors, reaffirmed by MRI scans that revealed a craniocerebral injury. However, the doctors at a military medical facility did not agree with this and simply diagnosed the soldier with an "acute reaction to stress."
Because of this, the soldier was denied the 3 million rubles he was entitled to per Putin's Presidential Decree No. 98, meant for injured and traumatized soldiers who suffered as part of what Moscow calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine.
This isn't something specifically new – a policy similar to this has been in place since the 1990s. However, it differed in some respects, specifically by scaling payments depending on the type of injury.
As indicated in the RIA report, Putin's decree didn't include mention of this scaling payment list that was instituted back in 1998. Rather, it seemingly was applied to all injuries entirely. However, in May, Russia's Defense Ministry ordered that compensation be scaled to the 1998 list.
The report continues to list several instances of Russian soldiers being denied compensation. This has also led to several soldiers being forced to return to the front lines without properly recovering since they aren't always given accurate diagnoses.
The condition of Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine
This report comes amid several others detailing the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Over the course of the conflict, Russia has suffered numerous losses and has had to make use of mobilization orders to shore up their lines, as well as employ the use of mercenaries from the Wagner Group.
Reports of a lack of compensation also follow other reports on a lack of ample equipment and ammunition for Russian forces on the front lines.