HIV, viral hepatitis, and minor mental disorders are no longer an obstacle: the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has approved a new schedule of illnesses that assesses eligibility for military service

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has approved a new schedule of diseases that assesses fitness for military service.

This order, numbered 490 and dated August 18, 2023, has already been published on the website of the Verkhovna Rada and has come into effect. 

This order introduces changes to the “Regulations on Military Medical Examination in the Armed Forces of Ukraine” (Ministry of Defense Order No. 402).

The major changes include a complete overhaul of the document titled “Schedule of Diseases for Assessing the Fitness of Servicemen.” It also provides details on determining the place of service for servicemen who are restricted in fitness, specifies the procedure for determining the causal relationship between diseases, injuries, wounds, contusions and service in the military. Additionally, it clarifies the list of documents to be submitted for consideration by the military medical commission.

One significant change is the exclusion of several medical diagnoses from the list of “controversial” conditions. Previously, these conditions were considered “controversial,” meaning that conscripts were deemed unfit for military service during wartime. Now, all these “controversial” conditions are negated and conscripts with such diagnoses will be considered fit for military service during wartime.

The excluded “controversial” conditions include:

1. Clinically cured tuberculosis (2-v).
2. Viral hepatitis with minor impairments of functions (4-v).
3. Asymptomatic HIV infection (5-v).
4. Chronic blood and circulatory system diseases (12-v).
5. Endocrine system diseases with minor impairments of functions (13-v).
6. Short-term mild manifestations of mental disorders (14-v).
7. Neurotic, stress-related, and somatoform disorders (17-v) with moderately pronounced, short-term manifestations.
8. Slowly progressing diseases of the central nervous system (21-v).
9. Episodic and paroxysmal disorders (22-v).

For individuals with restricted fitness due to other disease categories, the military medical commission must now also determine their fitness for service in a specific military specialty simultaneously with the decision on limited fitness for military service. In case a person is deemed unfit for service in one military specialty, the unit commander may refer them to a military medical commission for a determination of their fitness for another military specialty.

It’s important to note that there is currently no regulatory framework in place to specify which positions individuals with limited fitness can be assigned to. This decision is left to the discretion of the unit commanders, which may lead to situations where individuals with certain medical conditions may be assigned to roles with limited access to medical care or where they cannot receive necessary medications.

Another significant change introduced by this order is that health data of citizens will be obtained from the electronic healthcare system. Military medical commissions will request information from the primary level of the healthcare system (family doctors or doctors with whom health declarations are signed) about the diagnoses of conscripts, draftees and military personnel. Additionally, social services and authorities responsible for social protection will provide information about individuals with disabilities and local government health protection units will report data on individuals who have had viral hepatitis, typhoid, paratyphoid, dysentery and other infectious diseases within the last six months.

This change raises questions among legal experts, as sharing health information is considered a matter of personal data protection and informed consent. Individuals have the right to revoke their consent for the processing of their health data, and therefore, healthcare facilities are not obliged to provide this information to the military medical commissions without the explicit consent of the individual.

Furthermore, the order relaxes the health requirements for servicemen in the Airborne Assault and Marine Corps during special periods, such as mobilization and wartime. As a result, some servicemen who were previously deemed unfit for service in these units may now be considered fit.

These changes have raised concerns and questions among legal experts and medical professionals about the potential consequences for conscripts and the protection of their rights and health. The new regulations leave significant discretion to military authorities in determining the fitness of individuals with various medical conditions and it remains to be seen how these changes will be implemented in practice.