Russia accused of testing combat shells and unknown chemicals on soldiers
Military personnel of the Russian army (Photo: Getty Images)
The Russian Research Institute of Military Medicine of the Ministry of Defense is testing ammunition and pharmacological agents on volunteer military personnel, according to Russian media.
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Who is conducting the experiments and how
The institute is the only facility of the Russian Ministry of Defense authorized to conduct human research since 2015. This was reported in a 2019 article by the institute's director, Sergei Chepur.
According to him, the medical drugs being tested can affect higher nervous activity, so animal trials are insufficient; healthy volunteer military personnel are involved.
What is being tested
The testing program includes:
- New models of weapons, equipment, and gear;
- Assessment of the damaging effects of new ammunition;
- Means of pharmacological support and correction of the servicemen's condition (including drugs to increase performance);
- Means of protection against extreme and damaging factors.
Testing of artillery shells
In April 2023, at a conference in St. Petersburg, Chepur said that artillery shells were tested on volunteers to determine the type and power needed to destroy or incapacitate enemy personnel.
At the test site, fortifications of both Russia and NATO were simulated. At the test site, researchers examined the cardiovascular system, collected samples, and determined the relationship between bodily impairments and distance from explosions of 122 mm and 300 mm caliber guns.
Health consequences
During the tests, volunteers experienced critical blood pressure problems, changes in the vascular and nervous systems, and suppression of sensory and logical functions.
The conference materials note that this will allow the use of ammunition to suppress enemy personnel with guaranteed infliction of harm not below the medium level of severity.
Against the backdrop of the scandalous human testing at the Russian military institute, EU diplomacy chief Kaja Kallas stated that Russia is interested in a prolonged war between the US and Iran, as it diverts the world's attention away from its aggression against Ukraine.
Furthermore, according to Latvian intelligence, Russian leader Vladimir Putin is systematically provided with embellished information about the real state of the economy to hide the catastrophic consequences of sanctions.
The true scale of losses is staggering: Russia's federal budget deficit for January–February 2026 exceeded the annual plan, reaching nearly $70 billion.
