Analysts warn Russia may deploy troops with contagious diseases to front lines near Pokrovsk

A report drawing on military analysts and a Carnegie Centre brief says Russia has been deploying troops infected with HIV, hepatitis and other contagious diseases to the front lines around Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, part of Moscow’s intensified push to seize territory there. The claim, reported by The Telegraph, notes soldiers wearing red armbands to denote their medical conditions, a visual signal of deteriorating health within Russian forces as battles for the town have intensified in recent weeks. While the Russian military has not publicly substantiated the findings, analysts describe the alleged practice as a sign of mounting strain and a widening health crisis among Moscow’s manpower.

The infected units identified in the report are within Russia’s 1,435th and 1,437th motorised rifle regiments, which are part of the 27th and 15th motorised rifle brigades. The Carnegie Centre’s July briefing described a sharp rise in HIV rates among Russian soldiers, with researchers noting the problem appeared to have worsened since the start of the war. End-of-year data cited by investigators showed a substantial increase in infectious-disease cases among military personnel compared with the war’s outset. Experts caution that such infections raise immediate risk to the soldiers themselves and to the Ukrainian forces and civilians they encounter, especially in close-quarters combat and in makeshift medical settings.

Hepatitis, which damages the liver and can be fatal, can be transmitted through contact with infected blood, including through wounds or handling, and HIV can persist in blood and bodily fluids for hours after a death. The Telegraph report notes that the red armbands are used to mark soldiers who should be handled with extra precautions in medical settings and on the battlefield. While the precise origin of infections remains under review, independent researchers and security analysts have pointed to medical practices in field hospitals, including increased blood transfusions and the reuse of syringes, as factors that may contribute to transmission. Analysts interviewed for the report also emphasized that traditional transmission routes among troops—such as unprotected sex and needle sharing—have not disappeared in a fighting army whose members live under extreme stress and for whom risk-taking is a daily reality.

The Telegraph quotes Dmytro Zhmailo, executive director of the Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Centre (USCC), who said the presence of sick Russian troops could create both moral and psychological pressures on Ukrainian forces, potentially shaping how Ukrainian units approach combat and safety. Another voice cited is Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a former British Army colonel, who described the situation as a sign of desperation by President Vladimir Putin to capture Pokrovsk and to press a strategy of fighting “to the end.” Analysts have used the term “meat grinder” to describe the relentless assaults around Pokrovsk, a word that has appeared in commentary about Russia’s approach to the town’s defense and supply routes.

The debates around infected units occur as part of broader assessments of Moscow’s aims in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Pokrovsk sits on a key road that supplies Ukrainian outposts along the eastern frontier, including Chasiv Yar and Kostiantynivka, and it is near the country’s coal-processing industry. Observers say the town’s strategic value continues to drive the volume and intensity of heavy fighting, complicating any prospect of a rapid Ukrainian withdrawal or Russian consolidation.

London-based intelligence and security circles have also framed the episode within a wider critique of Russia’s conduct in Ukraine. Sir Richard Moore, head of the UK’s MI6, has warned that Vladimir Putin appears intent on prolonging the fighting rather than pursuing a negotiated peace. In remarks delivered before he steps down next week, Moore argued that Putin has shown a willingness to “string along” the West and its allies as long as Moscow can sustain arms supplies from Beijing and other partners. He suggested that there is little evidence of a genuine desire for a negotiated settlement unless Ukraine capitulates, and he criticized Russia’s resilience and the Kremlin’s political calculus in the face of international pressure and economic strain.

The overall assessment remains contested and unverified by independent investigators. The Telegraph and Carnegie Centre analyses draw on interviews with military analysts and open-source reporting, but a formal Russian government response to the infection claims was not available by publication time. The Daily Mail, which has been aggregating coverage of the issue, highlighted the wartime perspective on Russian medical logistics and battlefield practices, but its reporting also mirrors the contentious and highly politicized nature of information coming out of the conflict zones.

For Ukraine, the potential exposure to infectious diseases on the battlefield adds another layer of risk to frontline operations and medical logistics. Kyiv officials have long stressed the importance of enabling safe medical care for Ukrainian troops while maintaining operational tempo. International observers and security scholars emphasize that independent verification remains essential to assessing the full scope of these allegations, and they caution against drawing definitive conclusions without corroborating data from multiple sources.

Pokrovsk’s location near vital supply lines and its proximity to other contested towns have made it a focal point in the ongoing struggle for eastern Ukraine. Analysts say that even as political rhetoric and battlefield narratives evolve, the health and welfare of troops—on both sides—will be a critical determinant of how operations unfold in the weeks ahead. The situation continues to be monitored by intelligence services and security think tanks, with researchers calling for continued scrutiny of medical practices, troop deployments, and transport corridors that underpin the broader conflict.

Images accompanying this report show frontline training and conditions in the region; the image provided with this article shows a Russian troop during training exercises in a context consistent with the ongoing assessment of troop readiness and medical provisioning in the area. As new information emerges, officials caution that the evolving picture of Russia’s battlefield health landscape may change with updated data from on-the-ground reporting and independent analyses.