HIV rates among Russian soldiers surge 2,000% since start of full-scale invasion of Ukraine
Editor's note: An earlier version of this article said HIV rates had increased by 20 times at the end of 2024. This figure is for the end of 2023.
Cases of HIV among Russian soldiers have soared 2,000% since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a new report reveals, attributing the rise both to unprotected sex and drug use among troops, and political decisions made by the Kremlin.
According to the report from Carnegie Politika, cases detected in the Russian armed forces increased by 13 times by the end of 2022, and by 20 times by the end of 2023.
"The demographic and economic losses Russia will suffer as a result of this outbreak will have repercussions for decades and may ultimately even exceed the damage it has sustained from its invasion of Ukraine," the report said.
It attributes the rise to several factors including blood transfusions for wounded soldiers, reusing syringes in field hospitals, and soldiers engaging in unprotected sex and drug use.
The report also highlights the wider HIV situation in Russia which since 2022 has been among the top five countries worldwide for new HIV cases, behind South Africa, Mozambique, Nigeria, and India.
"There is no objective reason why HIV should be decreasing across the world — except in Russia. The factors behind this are purely political," the report said.
The Kremlin has taken several steps that have contributed to the rise, often in the name of defending what it calls "traditional values."
Russia placed British musician Elton John's charity that focuses on HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and awareness on its list of "undesirable organizations" over what it called "promotion of non-traditional sexual relations," the Russian Prosecutor General's Office said on April 3.
The non-profit, which was launched in 1992 and is based in the U.S. and the U.K., says it works in over 90 countries "to increase access to health care, tackle LGBTQ+ stigma, and end AIDS."
In their statement, Russian prosecutors claim the charity is "focused on the promotion of non-traditional sexual relations, Western family models, and gender reassignment."
