Topical issues of medical support for the CSTO Troops (Collective Forces) in armed conflicts have been discussed

On 6-7 November, in St. Petersburg, the Kirov Military Medical Academy, which is the basic training, methodological and research organization of the CSTO, hosted a scientific and practical conference entitled “Topical Issues of Medical Support for the CSTO Troops (Collective Forces) in Armed Conflicts”.

Representatives of the medical services of the armed forces of the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation and the CSTO Joint Staff discussed issues related to the organization of medical support, as well as the further development and improvement of medical support for the groupings of the CSTO Troops (Collective Forces) in modern conditions. Particular attention was paid to discussing the experience of conducting a special military operation, including the issues of modern combat surgical trauma, the rehabilitation and habilitation of patients with amputations, the provision of medical equipment and so on.

The Conference participants, having heard speeches and reports, discussed promising trends in the medical support of CSTO Troop groupings (Collective Forces). In particular, it was noted that in modern conditions, with the changing face of warfare, as a result of the use of high-tech firearms, the increase in the number of sanitary losses, characterized by a growing proportion of severe and extremely severe injuries, there are objective difficulties in carrying out treatment and evacuation measures, which makes it necessary to improve the organization of medical support.

An important step in the development of the medical support system for the CSTO Troops (Collective Forces) was the signing by the heads of the CSTO member states in the city of Dushanbe on 16 September 2021 of an agreement on joint logistical and medical support for the Troops (Collective Forces) of the Collective Security Treaty Organization. The adoption of this document made it possible to settle issues of interaction between the Parties in organizing medical support for the CSTO Troops (Collective Forces) groupings, including during the deployment and use of the groupings and the implementation of joint operational and combat training activities of the CSTO Troops (Collective Forces), taking into account the peculiarities of national legislation in the field of health care and the different subordination of the medical services of the defense departments of the member states.

During the conference it was noted that the development of medical support for the groupings of the CSTO Troops (Collective Forces) in armed conflicts is based on close cooperation between the armed forces, other troops and military formations and the civilian health care sector and the training of medical personnel, investment in knowledge-intensive areas of production, and in-depth military-medical cooperation, which is the most important area of policy for the CSTO member states.

• further improvement of medical support issues, taking into account the organization of medical support during a special military operation;