Defense Ministry introduces military medical commissions reforms to be implemented by fall of 2025

Ukraine's Defense Ministry, in cooperation with the Health Ministry, presented a draft reform of military medical commissions to be implemented by November 2025, according to the statement published on Nov. 30.

Military medical commissions have come under increasing scrutiny after suspected instances of corruption and other violations.

During the presentation, Deputy Defense Minister Serhii Melnyk said that the principles of the commissions' work "have not changed for decades," and the current system is "a vestige of the old administrative approach."

"It has flaws, unnecessary bureaucratic complications, and corruption risks. We must significantly reduce these risks," Melnyk added.

According to the presentation's participants, the current system of medical commissions has "double-sided disadvantages," allowing individuals to avoid military service without legal grounds and, at the same time, not preventing people with serious illnesses from joining the military, which creates additional difficulties for the Ukrainian army.

The reform is expected to divide the commissions' decisions into two data sets: medical and administrative. Some specialists will conduct medical examinations for medical commissions, while others will analyze the anonymized results.

Persons liable for military service will no longer need to go to enlistment offices to get a referral for a medical examination. Instead, they will be able to choose a hospital to undergo the process, with their data then transferred into the Electronic Healthcare System.

The data will then be sent to the Ukrainian Armed Forces medical commissions, which will decide whether a person is fit to serve in the army for health reasons.

The anonymized data will be sent to a random commission whose members will not know whose documents they are reviewing, which is expected to prevent data manipulation and corruption risks.

"This reform is necessary for those liable for military service to trust the system. To undergo medical examinations in civilian facilities. To feel that their rights are protected and that after the medical examination, they are not immediately recognized as fit if they have any illnesses," Deputy Defense Minister Kateryna Chernohorenko said.

According to Chernohorenko, a "digital trace" will be visible after each decision — electronic signatures of both the doctor and the military medical commission employee. The commissions' conclusions will be stored.

These steps should simplify the verification and monitoring of the commissions' activities by law enforcement agencies, Chernohorenko added.

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