Candidates for contract positions were barred due to phobias and schizophrenia.
The Ministry of Defense has implemented an order effective today, June 15, 2026, clarifying the medical contraindications for citizens entering into contract service. The previous version of the list was approved by order No. 850 on December 20, 2025, reports the newspaper "Kommersant."
The key innovation of the document is the abandonment of the generalized formulation "Mental disorders and behavioral disorders." Instead, six specific types have been included in the list: organic catatonic and delusional (schizophrenic-like) disorders, schizophrenia, chronic delusions, phobias, intellectual disability, and behavioral disorders caused by the use of psychoactive substances. Individuals with these diagnoses will not be accepted into the contract forces.
In the Ministry of Defense, the need for such changes was explained by the desire to prevent citizens with mental disorders from serving and to reduce the risk of "suicidal incidents" in the army. The draft order was published by the ministry back in March 2026.
The previous expansion of the list occurred in December 2025, when the number of contraindications increased from 26 to 35 items. That version added diabetes (of any type), the consequences of spinal fractures, fractures of the torso, upper and lower limbs, an expanded list of eye diseases, persistent hearing loss, jaw and dental diseases, deformities and defects of the hand and fingers, as well as the presence of a foreign body in the cranial cavity.
Другие Новости Кирова (НЗК)
Candidates for contract positions were barred due to phobias and schizophrenia.
Starting from June 15, 2026, a revised order from the Ministry of Defense came into effect in Russia, listing diseases that hinder contract service. The document for the first time divided mental disorders into six specific diagnoses — from schizophrenia to phobias.
