Public Health Fakes: 10% of the soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces die from heart attacks. Issue #84

Disinformation: 10% of the soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces die from heart attacks

Russian Telegram channels once again attempt to discredit Ukrainian military personnel, claiming that allegedly 10% of Ukrainian soldiers on the front line die from heart attacks or hypothermia. Ambulances allegedly do not evacuate such soldiers from the battlefield. In the post, it is mentioned that the average age of Ukrainian military personnel is 54 years. Furthermore, there is a new rule in the Armed Forces of Ukraine that in certificates, the term used is “died” instead of “killed” to reduce payments to relatives.

What’s the reality?

There is no data regarding the alleged 10% of soldiers dying from heart attacks and hypothermia. The Russian “statistics” are based on distorted information.

Earlier, “Ukraiinska Pravda” reported on illnesses most commonly suffered by Ukrainian soldiers in the trenches. One of the main problems is “trench foot,” which occurs during prolonged exposure of the feet to a damp and cold environment. Medics point out that the worst-case scenario for this condition is limb amputation. Infectious disease specialist Maksym Krasnov also mentioned that sometimes heart attacks occur among soldiers on the front line. However, he did not provide statistics on deaths from heart attacks or other data disseminated by the Russians.

We found no “innovations” in the Armed Forces of Ukraine regarding changing the status from “killed” to “died.” This is another fabrication by occupiers to conceal their real crimes. Russian channels are also spreading lies about not evacuating soldiers with heart attacks from the battlefield. For instance, in an interview with “Suspilne,” the head of the medical platoon’s evacuation department, Dmytro Hovorun, stated that heart attacks and strokes occurred in soldiers on the battlefield due to severe stress. In such cases, combat medics evacuated soldiers to hospitals.

Moreover, before entering military service, all military personnel must undergo a military medical examination. Doctors conduct a thorough examination and determine fitness for army service based on their health condition. In some cases, serious cardiovascular diseases may be grounds for removal from military service.

Furthermore, the Russians distorted information regarding the age of servicemen. Advisor to the President’s Office, Serhii Leshchenko, stated that only in some units he was told that the average age of servicemen is 54 years. However, Leshchenko did not mean all units of the Armed Forces. Earlier, a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense, and Intelligence, Serhii Rakhmanin, mentioned that the approximate average age of Ukrainian military personnel is 40-45 years. Although there are no official statistics on the average age of servicemen in open sources. Therefore, it is impossible to assert the true average age among all military personnel.

Therefore, the statements made by the Russians are merely an attempt to discredit Ukraine’s healthcare system. Allegedly, the state “does not care about the military,” and doctors “do not assist” soldiers with cardiovascular diseases.

Overall, cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide. According to the latest report from the World Heart Federation, over the past 30 years, global mortality from cardiovascular diseases has increased by 60%. Cardiovascular diseases are also a major cause of death among Ukrainians. According to the latest data from the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, in 2021, over 429,000 people died from cardiovascular diseases.

Among the main symptoms of a heart attack are sharp pain or burning in the chest, irregular heartbeat, shortness of breath, nausea, severe weakness, and more. Even individuals without medical education can help a person showing signs of a heart attack. It is crucial to immediately call an ambulance (103). Before the ambulance arrives, the person should be seated or laid down with the upper part of the body elevated, and the chest should be cleared of any foreign objects to facilitate breathing. If the affected person has high blood pressure and no contraindications, they may take aspirin and nitroglycerin.

Disinformation: Prices for human organs were found at the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kharkiv region

Information is circulating online claiming that Russian military personnel found price lists for human organs at the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in a school in the village of Kyslivka, Kharkiv region. The post includes photos of leaflets indicating prices for a liter of blood and various organs such as kidneys, liver, lungs, eyes, heart, legs, hands, bone marrow, testicles, penis, and ears. Another leaflet in English and Ukrainian states that, in addition to the permanent medical unit in Izium and Borova in the Kharkiv region, there are mobile medical units where doctors also perform transplants. The leaflet provides a contact number and the military call sign “Irokez” for inquiries.

What’s the reality?

Numerous inaccuracies in the leaflets indicate that the information is fake. Firstly, as of December 26, there is no information about the reoccupation of the village of Kyslivka. This settlement was liberated back in November 2022. Since then, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine regularly reports on mortar and artillery shelling of the village by Russian forces.

Secondly, the list of organs supposedly available for transplantation immediately raises suspicions of forgery. In Ukraine, the list of organs that doctors can transplant is currently quite limited. Ukrainian experts, for example, do not transplant limbs, eyeballs, genital organs, testicles, and so on.

Even in countries with more advanced medical capabilities, surgeries for the transplantation of certain organs, such as the genital organ, testicles, or eyeball, are extremely complex and rare. For example, in November 2023, the United States performed the first-ever transplantation of a whole eye in history. Surgeries for the transplantation of an ear from a deceased donor have not been conducted at all; scientists are still researching the possibility of conducting inner ear transplants.

Furthermore, the sale of “one liter of blood” seems strange, considering that donors typically donate 450 ml of whole blood at a time, and the interval between donations is at least 2 months.

In previous releases, we have repeatedly explained that performing transplant surgeries in field conditions or, as mentioned in the post, in mobile medical units is impossible. Conducting a transplantation requires a large number of medical professionals and proper equipment. The claim about transporting organs and searching for recipients abroad sounds unrealistic since the organs that can be transported have a short preservation time under the required temperature conditions. Additionally, selecting a donor-recipient pair will also take additional time, as their physiological parameters must match.

Furthermore, we verified the phone number provided in the leaflet, which suggested contacting the military personnel with the call sign “Irokez” on WhatsApp. However, a user with this number is not registered on this messaging platform. The “Get contact” application, which allows users to see how a contact is saved in the phones of others, indicated that this contact is most often saved as “Biryuza Daughter Anush.” We also called the number, but the call was not answered.

The letter with the proposal to contact mobile medical units has errors. Specifically, after the colon, the word “крім”(except) is written with a capital letter, and in the word “нашій”(our), the letter “і” is replaced with “ї”. Also, in the sentence “мобільні пункти на колесах, які… готові отримати зразки біоматеріалів для збереження їх цінності” (mobile stations on wheels that are… ready to receive samples of biomaterials to preserve their value), instead of “їх,” it should be “їхньої”. Additionally, the call sign “Ірокез”(Irokez) is translated into English, although proper names are not translated but transliterated.