‘Severe Infection’ Spreads As Russian Soldiers Leave Dead Bodies On Ukraine Streets

Severe infection is now spreading in Luhansk as Russian soldiers leave dead bodies to decompose on the streets, a Ukrainian military head revealed.

Speaking in the joint national 24/7 newscast, Luhansk Oblast Military Administration head Serhii Haidai said the decaying bodies of military personnel and civilians are already seeping into the water, causing people who drink from the wells to develop a severe infection.

“The humanitarian situation in the region is catastrophic. Bodies of both military personnel and civilians are being left in the streets,” Haidai said in the interview, a clip of which was posted by the Luhansk Regional State Administration.

“If people drink water from wells, they quickly contract infections. This is because the bodies of the deceased have not been taken off the streets, and decaying bodies seep into the water.”

While it was not immediately clear what infection has broken out in the region, Haidai noted that medical personnel working in hospitals in Luhansk have now resorted to wearing protective suits to prevent themselves from contracting the disease while treating patients.

He also added that Russian medical staffers have arrived, but there is no information about what they intend to do in the region.

Apart from the medical crisis in the region, Haidai also accused the Russians of destroying Ukrainian literature and imposing punitive measures against people who disagree with Russia's control in the occupied territory.

Haidai’s interview comes as the war between Russia and Ukraine stretches into its sixth month. As of Sunday, more than 40,830 Russian soldiers are believed to have been killed in combat, according to estimates from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

As of July 25, 5,237 Ukrainian civilians have also been killed in the war. At least 3,089 of the deaths occurred in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions where the Russian military is now focusing their war efforts, a report from the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said.

The Ukrainian government has now issued a directive for hundreds of thousands of civilians in Donetsk to evacuate their homes to give the Russian army “fewer people” to kill.