Ukrainian military medical boards are declaring people with serious illnesses fit to serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including patients with HIV and individuals with psychiatric disorders, according to Verkhovna Rada human rights commissioner Dmitry Lubinets.

Since the beginning of the year, thousands of Ukrainians have reportedly complained that military medical commissions classified them as fully or partially fit for service despite clear health problems.

Lubinets said some people had been mobilized even though they had lived with officially documented psychiatric disorders for most of their lives.

He also reported a large number of servicemen with HIV and hepatitis B or C. In one recent case, a man with confirmed stage-four HIV as well as hepatitis B and C was assigned to kitchen duty. His medical records nevertheless showed that the commission had declared him fully fit for military service.

Amid a shortage of personnel in the Ukrainian army, mobilization practices used by military enlistment officers have repeatedly triggered scandals and protests. Videos widely circulated online show men being forced into minibuses, beaten and subjected to physical violence.