A Scientific Evaluation for Military Medical Services in the Russia-Ukraine War

Abstract

Aims The study aimed to evaluate military medical services, identify problems, and develop suggestions, evaluating medical services in the Russia-Ukraine War as hybrid warfare. Information & Methods This systematic review was conducted by examining scientific articles published between 2021 and 2023, obtained by searching the sentences “Military Health Services in the Russia-Ukraine War” and “War Casualties in the Russia-Ukraine War.” Additionally, military medical literature and military medical news from China, Iran, the United Kingdom, Belarus, and the United States were examined and interpreted. Findings The Russia-Ukraine war differs from conventional wars and counterterrorism operations regarding military healthcare. Diversity of front depth, frequency of mass and polytrauma, difficulties in medevac, and the loss of medical personnel were found to be noteworthy as the main problems for both Russia and Ukraine in this expanding hybrid war. Attacks on health facilities and medical personnel were also one of the basic attack strategies in this war, as in all wars. Conclusion Medical examination and vaccination for attending to the army, medevac distances, the safety of medevac routes, loss of medical facilities and medical personnel, lack of communication between medical units, the load of medical facilities deployed in route migration mandatorily, non-standardized first aid applying and absence of medical intelligence are main problem areas about medical services in Russia -Ukraine War. It has been stated that the military medical system is an important power protector and “Force Multiplier”. © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.