Vladimir Putin has backed a proposal that could allow Russians with severe medical conditions — including blindness, deafness and schizophrenia — to volunteer for regional units defending critical infrastructure from Ukrainian drones. The extraordinary proposal comes as Moscow struggles to protect oil refineries, power facilities and cities across its vast rear areas, with shortages of air-defence systems and personnel putting growing pressure on the Kremlin. Putin says the desperate proposal should be examined During a televised exchange, state broadcaster VGTRK correspondent Yevgeny Poddubny proposed allowing people classified as Category D to join regional BARS drone-defence units. Category D is Russia’s strictest military fitness classification and normally excludes people from conscription because of severe, irreversible conditions. “Zhenya, I support it,” Putin told Poddubny, saying he would raise the proposal with the General Staff and Defence Ministry. Poddubny said wounded soldiers had raised the idea, arguing that some Category D volunteers understood their limitations but still wanted to defend local facilities rather than serve at the front. Russia has already lowered the medical bar The proposal follows major changes to Russia’s military medical standards amid mounting manpower pressures. Rules adopted in August 2025 downgraded some endogenous psychoses, including schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders, from “unfit” to “limited fitness”. Chronic alcoholism and alcohol-induced psychoses were also moved into a less restrictive category. A military psychiatrist quoted in an investigation said the reason was blunt: “the fit resource is running out.” Drone attacks are stretching the system Regional BARS units have rapidly expanded as Russia tries to protect strategic infrastructure without diverting more conventional forces. At least 20 regions had begun recruiting reservists to guard critical sites, including oil refineries and petrochemical facilities. Putin subsequently ordered mobilisation reservist assemblies for infrastructure defence throughout 2026. The latest proposal has not yet become law. But Putin’s intervention sends a stark signal: as Ukrainian drones penetrate deeper into Russia, Moscow is searching for manpower wherever it can find it. Desperate Putin backs plan that could let blind, deaf and schizophrenic volunteers join drone defense
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