Europe
US military hospital in Germany authorized to treat fighters from Ukraine but hasn’t so far
Stars and Stripes
July 27, 2022
The entrance to the emergency department at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. The Defense Department has approved the treatment of wounded Ukrainian service members at the hospital, according to a CNN report. (Jennifer H. Svan/Stars and Stripes)
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — No Ukrainian military personnel have yet been treated at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, U.S. officials said Wednesday, following a report that the Pentagon is allowing fighters injured during combat with Russia to be admitted to the hospital.
CNN reported Tuesday that a plan allowing for the treatment of up to 18 wounded Ukrainian soldiers at a time if no closer medical facility was available had been authorized by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin last month.
The report cited a memo the network obtained and confirmation by two unidentified U.S. defense officials.
The hospital, which is the largest overseas U.S. military medical facility, “remains postured and ready to support U.S. armed forces, NATO member countries and partners as directed,” hospital spokesman Marcy Sanchez said Wednesday.
Wounded Ukrainian troops would have to be transported out of the country by train or car before they could be airlifted to Ramstein Air Base, according to CNN. Ramstein is a few miles down the road from LRMC.
This past spring, a bipartisan congressional group urged Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to scale up at LRMC to treat Ukrainians as a way of easing the strain on the health care systems in Ukraine and Poland, according to CNN.
The hospital primarily serves Defense Department personnel and their families during assignments to Europe or deployment to Africa and the Middle East.
But it also has cared for foreigners, most recently last summer, when large numbers of refugees from Afghanistan were treated there after being evacuated in the wake of the Taliban takeover.