The Ukrainian Armed Forces are facing a new and alarming health crisis. According to The Telegraph, soldiers are increasingly contracting gas gangrene — a disease virtually unseen since the First World War.

The report attributes the outbreak to severe delays in evacuating wounded troops from the front lines. The widespread use of Russian drones has made medical evacuation extremely difficult, leaving many soldiers without timely treatment. These delays, the article notes, have led to serious complications, including the development of gas gangrene — a condition triggered by disrupted blood circulation.

In oxygen-deprived tissues, Clostridium bacteria become active, releasing powerful natural toxins such as botulinum toxin, tetanospasmin, and epsilon toxin. They also produce gas, which accumulates beneath the skin in the form of small bubbles. The resulting tissue necrosis causes excruciating pain, swelling, skin discoloration, and a distinctive crackling sound as gases move under the surface.

A foreign volunteer medic identified as Alex, currently serving in the Zaporizhzhia region, said that evacuation delays of this magnitude have not been seen in at least half a century. He added that medical teams are now encountering pathological conditions previously unseen in modern warfare.

The Telegraph reports that treating gas gangrene requires immediate surgical intervention, during which infected tissue is removed and large doses of antibiotics are administered. However, in Ukraine, limited access to field laboratories and medical facilities has made early surgery and proper antibiotic treatment nearly impossible under current frontline conditions.