Defense Ministry hails progress in medical commissions reform after corruption scandals

All Military Medical Commissions (MMC) are obliged to issue their conclusions in electronic format starting from April 1, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov announced on April 2, marking the completion of the first stage of the commissions' reform.

The MMC is a commission of medical doctors conducting examinations to determine fitness for military service.

Since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022, there have been cases of medically unfit citizens being drafted into the military, or vice versa, of fit people avoiding military service through corrupt schemes.

"The reform of the MMC is part of a larger transformation that we are implementing together with the Health Ministry, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and international partners," Umerov said.

Thanks to the reform, the commission's medical reports automatically appear in relevant registers and the online application Rezerv+ (Reserve+), which the government has promoted as a convenient and quick alternative to lengthy waits at enlistment offices.

The reform also aims to reduce corruption risks and eliminate the need to bring documents to enlistment offices personally.

The reform of the MMCs began following a corruption scandal involving medical examination commissions (MSEC) for determining the severity of disabilities.

Following the National Security and Defense Council meeting last October, Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) head Vasyl Maliuk said that the SBU had exposed corruption schemes at MSECs, resulting in the cancellation of 4,106 fake disability status certificates.

Maliuk added that 64 officials at medical examination commissions have been charged with committing crimes, while another nine suspects have been convicted.

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