Wounded Russian troops have medical payments cut in one swift move

• Russia passed a new decree on Wednesday limiting payments to wounded soldiers based on their wounds.
• Soldiers with less serious wounds now have their $30,000 payout reduced to $10,000 or even $1,000.
• Earlier foreign estimates showed that Russia had to spend 6% of its budget on payouts for losses.

The Kremlin imposed new restrictions on medical payments to Russia’s wounded troops on Wednesday, quickly passing a decree allowing only those with serious injuries to receive a promised $30,000.

Earlier, at the beginning of its war against Ukraine, Russia had promised that those wounded in the fighting should each is given a one-time payment of 3 million rubles, or about $30,000.

But Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s new instruction on Wednesday reduces the payout to $10,000 for less serious injuries and $1,000 for other cases.

The decree was approved by Russia’s Prime Minister, Mikhail Mishustin, who heads the country’s parliament, and set into law 16.00 on the same day.

Under the Kremlin’s new guidelines, soldiers will only receive the full $30,000 if they suffer “Stage I” injuries, or those that endanger their life or health or could cause significant damage to their organs.

These include severe spinal cord injuries, brain damage, genital fractures, rib fractures, broken limbs or damage to organs such as lungs or kidneys.

Less serious injuries that qualify a soldier for $10,000 are listed under “Section II.” These are considered to be temporary wounds such as minor fractures, concussions, first and second degree burns to the eyes, broken ankles and gunshot wounds that do not affect organs.

Russia is still sticking to a law signed by Putin in March 2022 that entitles those who die in the war to about 7.4 million rubles, or $75,000, as well as 5 million rubles, or $50,000, to their families.

Those injured and deemed “unfit for service” are also entitled to an additional 2.96 million rubles on top of their compensation payout.

The new decision comes about a week after Russian media reported that authorities had discussed a review of the compensation.

Anna Tsivileva, a Russian Deputy Defense Minister, told reporters on November 5 that doctors and hospitals had said that the payments did not take into account the seriousness of the soldiers’ injuries.

Meanwhile, mounting casualties from Russia’s grinding advance in Ukraine’s east are likely to increase the cost of payments to the wounded and the families of those killed. Britain estimates that as many as 1,500 Russian soldiers were killed or wounded on average every day in October.

In July, two Western researchers estimated that Russia would have to spend about 2.3 trillion rubles, now worth about $23 billion, in payments to the dead and wounded. It was around 6% of the country’s total budget for 2024.

The Kremlin’s press service did not respond to a request for comment sent outside business hours by Business Insider.