A person with an amputated leg was never considered fit for military service. According to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, a person with a diagnosis of “unilateral amputated stump of the lower limb above the level of the upper third of the lower leg” is unfit for military service. In a comment to StopFake, a territorial center of recruitment and social support representative said that the document looks like a fake.
Kremlin media and social media users spread fake information that a person without a leg was allegedly found fit for military service in Ukraine. A photograph of a conscript’s temporary ID card with this decision is used as “evidence”.
“Even with one leg, a Ukrainian was not recognized as disabled, but as “with limited functioning”. Now he not only has to serve in the military, but also loses the disability payments,” users write.
The fake document states that the person was “recognized” as fit for military service with a diagnosis of “amputated stump of the lower right limb above the level of the upper third of the lower leg.” Such a document, as can be seen in the photo, was allegedly signed by Dmytro Klabukov, the head of the Desnyan district territorial center of recruitment and social support in Kyiv.
Among the spread of this information, StopFake decided to check whether a person with such a diagnosis could really be considered fit for military service. As it turned out, this information is not true.
First of all, the order of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry “On Approval of the Regulation on Military Medical Examination in the Armed Forces of Ukraine” contains a clear list of diseases, conditions and physical deficiencies that determine the degree of suitability for military service. Article 63 features a diagnosis that propaganda added to the fake document, “one-sided amputated stump of the lower limb above the level of the upper third of the lower leg.” With such a diagnosis, the Ministry of Defense document states, a person is “unfit for military service with exclusion from military registration.” As of December 11, 2023, this order is valid.
Secondly, the document features non-existent wording, which suggests it to be fake. The aforementioned order of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry claims that one of the following decisions must be made based on the results of the medical examination of conscripts:
1) suitable for military service;
2) temporarily unfit for military service, needs treatment in …;
3) requires referral for additional medical examination and repeated medical examination…;
4) unfit for military service in peacetime, limited fit in wartime;
5) unfit for military service with exclusion from military registration.
If a person had health problems and was fit for military service, the document would state “limited fit for wartime” instead of “fit for military service. Limited functionality”.
Additionally, it’s worth noting that propaganda made a language mistake in the document. The word ‘functionality’ is written with mistakes and in Russian. At the same time, such a concept is not featured in the order of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry and does not apply to conscript citizens.
Thirdly, since the photo being circulated shows that the document was signed by the head of the Desnyan district territorial center of recruitment and social support in Kyiv, StopFake decided to contact them for a comment and find out if they really issued such a document. The representative of the institution replied that “this document looks like a fake.” In particular, the representative drew attention to item No. 7, which prescribes fitness for military service based on health. In addition, the representative of the territorial center added, based on the information in the document, the person should be excluded from the lists of conscripts “as a convict” (according to the information in point No. 8 of the distributed document – editor’s note).
Previously, StopFake refuted the information that in Ukraine elderly people are encouraged to mobilize to the Armed Forces.
