Defence Ministry amends order on military medical commissions, expanding limits of fitness for service

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence has approved a new Schedule of Medical Conditions, which is used to assess fitness for military service and regulate the service of those with limited fitness.

Source: Ukrainian Military Pages, referring to the Defence Ministry Order No. 490; Defence Ministry Order No. 402

Details: Amendments to the Regulation on Military Medical Examination in the Armed Forces (Order of the Ministry of Defence No. 402) were introduced by Order of the Ministry of Defence No. 490 dated 18 August 2023, and entered into force on 25 August.

At the same time, other changes introduced by Order No. 456, which simplify requirements for service in the Airborne Troops and Marine Corps during a special period, came into force on the same day.

Order No. 490 completely updated the Schedule of Medical Conditions for assessing the fitness of servicemen, detailed the procedure for determining the place of service for those with limited fitness, clarified the procedure for adopting the Regulation of the Military Medical Commission on the causal relationship of a medical condition or injury (wounds, contusions, mutilations) with military service and the protection of the homeland, specified the list of documents to be submitted for consideration, and introduced many other changes to the Regulation.

Previously, paragraph 20.4 of Section III of the Regulations stipulated that in wartime, under the articles of the Schedule of Medical Conditions that provide for the options of individual assessment of fitness or limited fitness for service, a military medical commission should make a decision of "fit for military service", with the exception of articles 2c, 4-c, 5-c, 12-c, 13-c, 14-c, 17-c, 21-c and 22-c.

Now, the words and figures "with the exception of articles 2-c, 4-c, 5-c, 12-c, 13-c, 14-c, 17-c, 21-c and 22-c" have been removed from the Regulation, i.e.  everyone will be recognised as fit under the "controversial" articles:

• 2-c – clinically treated tuberculosis;
• 4-c – viral hepatitis with minor functional impairment;
• 5-c – asymptomatic HIV carrier;
• 12-c - slowly progressive and non-progressive with minor functional impairment and rare exacerbations of anaemia, blood clotting disorders, purpura, haemorrhagic conditions, other diseases of the blood and haematopoietic organs, and some disorders involving the immune mechanism;
• 13-c - diseases of the endocrine system with minor functional disorders;
• 14-c - mild, short-term, painful manifestations of mental disorders;
• 17-c - neurotic, stress-related and somatoform disorders with moderate or short-term manifestations, with an asthenic state;
• 21-c – slowly progressive diseases of the central nervous system with minor functional disorders;
• 22-c – episodic and paroxysmal disorders, except for epilepsy, with minor impairment of organ and system functions.

As for those with limited fitness, from now on, simultaneously with the regulation on limited fitness for military service, a military medical commission must make a decision on the fitness of a serviceman for service in a specific military specialism (SMS).

In the event that a serviceman is recognised as unfit for service in a military specialism, a unit commander may subject him to a military medical commission to determine his fitness for service in a different military specialism before transferring him to another position.

At the same time, the information agency notes that although Orders No. 456 and No. 490 have already entered into force and been published on the Verkhovna Rada portal, changes have not yet been made to the Regulation itself (Order No. 402) on the website.

Background: On 30 August, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that at a meeting of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, it had been decided that a comprehensive inspection be conducted of the validity of decisions made by military medical commissions since 24 February 2022. These are decisions on disability and unfitness for service that were or may be related to corruption violations. All cases where the decisions were unreasonable and illegal should be investigated by law enforcement agencies, the president said.

In addition, Zelenskyy announced that the system of determining fitness for military service must be reassessed to make it easier for commanders to recruit soldiers for combat missions and to prevent the concept of limited fitness from being manipulated.

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