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Russia's HIV crisis, already significant before the Ukraine war, has drastically worsened. Military HIV cases surged over 40 times in the first year of the war, fueled by risky behaviors, limited access to treatment, and wartime disruptions. The decline in HIV treatment access, coupled with the suppression of civil society and LGBTQ+ rights, further exacerbates the problem. The epidemic's spread beyond the military is feared, with some regions exceeding WHO's threshold for a generalized epidemic. Russia's denial of the severity only intensifies the crisis, placing it among the top five countries with the highest new HIV infections globally.

Prepared by Olivia Bennett and reviewed by editorial team.