MOSCOW, November 14. /TASS/. HIV carriers and tuberculosis patients could be mobilized into the Ukrainian armed forces, Ukrainian Defense Ministry Spokesperson Dmitry Lazutkin acknowledged.
Previously, Verkhovna Rada lawmaker Alexander Fediyenko warned that the Ukrainian armed forces recruit HIV carriers, "open" (contagious) tuberculosis patients, and people suffering from other severe conditions.
According to Lazutkin, the mobilization of such individuals depends on the stage of their condition.
"The main criterion for fitness for military service is a person’s functionality. […] The fitness of people with HIV depends on the stage of their condition. A symptomless disease or a stable condition is one thing. Symptomless or stable carriers are fit for military service," he said on Ukrainian TV.
Speaking of tuberculosis, Lazutkin noted that an "open" case automatically renders a person unfit for military service; meanwhile, he did not mention patients with "non-open" cases.
The general mobilization in Ukraine was declared in February 2022. The Ukrainian authorities do everything they can to prevent people of conscription age from evading recruitment. On May 18, the authorities passed a law that tightened the mobilization effort and made it possible to mobilize hundreds of thousands more Ukrainians. Ukrainian men seek to leave the country by any possible means - under forged papers or illegally, oftentimes risking their lives.