1/ Russian State Duma deputy and surgeon Badma Bashankaev boasts that wounded Russian soldiers enjoy a 96% survival rate. Russian warbloggers point out, however, that only the lightly wounded usually get treated; most seriously injured Russians die on the battlefield. ⬇️ 
2/ Badma Bashankaev is a fervent supporter of Russia's war effort and represents Putin's United Russia party in the State Duma. He has recently appeared in an interview with state news agency TASS speaking about Russia's ostensible success in treating wounded soldiers.
3/ Russian warbloggers, however, are sceptical. Ilya Ovsyannikov writes in his 'INSTRUCTOR'S NOTES' Telegram channel that: "These statistics only show that the seriously wounded are not being transported and that they cannot organize a mass evacuation!!!"
4/ "It's cool to talk in the warmth with a well-groomed smile about statistics in percentages, without quantifying those who died from preventable causes due to a lack of supplies, evacuation, and training.
Dancing and singing self-praise on bones; I have no words."
Dancing and singing self-praise on bones; I have no words."
5/ The medically-focused '5 mg. KGV' channel agrees, and comments:
"Oh, that dreadful word "statistics." They are absolutely true.
No one is deceiving anyone. And I say this without irony.
But... as always, there's a small but.))"
"Oh, that dreadful word "statistics." They are absolutely true.
No one is deceiving anyone. And I say this without irony.
But... as always, there's a small but.))"
6/ "I agree with Ilya Ovsyannikov that statistics are based on the influx of wounded admitted to the qualified surgical care stage.
That's where Form 100 [the primary medical record] is issued. A promissory note for cash.
That's where Form 100 [the primary medical record] is issued. A promissory note for cash.
7/ "But what about those who were wounded but died in the pre-hospital stage, before they could be registered as 300 [wounded]?
This entire stage of care is practically unstudied. It's not subject to statistics and is not tracked.
This entire stage of care is practically unstudied. It's not subject to statistics and is not tracked.
8/ "The pre-hospital period is terra incognita in this conflict.
So yes, we save 96% and return them to duty.
But what is that in numbers, not percentages? And in degrees of severity?"
So yes, we save 96% and return them to duty.
But what is that in numbers, not percentages? And in degrees of severity?"
9/ In fact, as noted by a veteran Russian military doctor speaking pseudonymously in a since-deleted June 2025 interview, the official statistics are both deeply methodologically flawed and affected by outright fraud. He says:
10/ "It turns out that hospital mortality is practically non-existent, somewhere around 0.4%. These are purely accounting tricks... If a wounded man dies in his bed, he can be “fired retroactively”.
11/ "The death certificate says that he was admitted dead. Who will check? Sometimes the date of death was even shifted by two weeks. The bosses need a pretty report - that's what you get."
https://x.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/1932342710360330387
12/ The constant presence of drones often makes it suicidal for evacuation teams to reach the wounded, who are usually many kilometres away from a point where they can get help. Some men have spoken of crawling for days to reach an evacuation point. /end
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