Russian military hospitals are reportedly struggling to handle a surge of wounded soldiers from the war against Ukraine, forcing authorities to convert civilian medical facilities into military treatment centres, according to a report by Novaya Gazeta Europe.
The outlet says shortages of beds for so-called “SMO [Special Military Operation, the term Russia uses for the war in Ukraine] participants” have driven a widening takeover of civilian healthcare infrastructure across Russia.
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In Omsk, a women’s clinic was closed at the end of 2025 and repurposed into a polyclinic under the Defence Ministry. Earlier, maternity hospital No. 5 in the city was shut down and converted into a military hospital.
A new surgical and clinical centre is now under construction in the region, with officials stating it will place “special attention” on treating wounded troops returning from Ukraine.
Residents say the shift is squeezing access to ordinary healthcare. One local woman said her mother was denied hospital admission after surgery with the message: “No beds! The SMO guys… you understand.”
Similar reports are emerging across Russia. In Moscow, the country’s only specialist clinic for cystic fibrosis patients was repurposed for military use, while in Rostov-on-Don a maternity hospital was also converted.
In St. Petersburg, wounded soldiers are now being treated in nearly all major hospitals, according to the report.
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A former nurse at the Dzhanelidze Emergency Medicine Institute described worsening overcrowding and strain on staff, saying the scale of military admissions is being deliberately downplayed.
“They don’t really talk about the SMO patients because there are so many of them,” she said.
She also described tensions in wards, including disruptions to care and conflicts with staff.
According to her account, some soldiers were later transferred to Severomorsk after consuming large amounts of medical supplies and overwhelming hospital resources intended for civilians.
The report also cites estimates from the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), which says Russia’s total losses in Ukraine could reach 1.198 million by January 2026, including 873,000 wounded and 325,000 killed – figures it describes as unprecedented in the post–World War II era.