Mobilized Russian Soldier with Rotting Arm Hospitalized After Media Coverage

On July 23, doctors at a military hospital in Rostov-on-Don performed surgery on 56-year-old long-haul truck driver Viktor Kazakov from Irkutsk, who had been suffering from a severe arm injury.

Since March 2025, Kazakov had been held at a military base in Makiivka, where he had previously served.

Kazakov had traveled from Irkutsk to the unit seeking permission for surgery. After sustaining a serious arm wound in February 2024, he was no longer fighting and had been receiving treatment at home. However, commanders not only refused to provide the necessary medical documents but also prevented him from returning home.

He lived in the barracks with an Ilizarov apparatus on his arm, which became swollen and began to rot, but he was denied proper medical care. Complaints led only to threats of being sent to the front lines.

It was only after the media outlet "People of Baikal" reported his story that the situation began to change. Kazakov’s sister, who lives in Irkutsk, received a call from the region’s governor, Igor Kobzev, who promised that specialists from Kursk would be sent to assist her brother and investigate the matter.

Before that, since March 2025, she had repeatedly appealed to the governor, lawmakers, and the human rights ombudsman, but nothing changed until the story received public attention.