Vladimir Putin's Russia is recruiting sick and injured people to bolster the ranks of its faltering army, Ukraine claims.
The unverified claims come from an update provided by The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine's Facebook page on Monday, September 5.
The post read: "In Donetsk, the Russian invaders found a 'new source' of replenishment of losses in manpower.
"So, recently, representatives of the Russian occupation army began to arrive at local hospitals in the city and forcefully 'discharge' patients.
"Men of military age with various diseases or injuries, including those wounded during hostilities who are undergoing treatment, fall under such an extract."
The unconfirmed statement comes amid further claims that Russia has lost around 50,000 troops in its war campaign in the country that escalated in February.
Further reports say the country is struggling to expand the size of its military and replace those already killed in the war.
A senior US defence official said at the end of August that the US government does not believe Russia can successfully increase the size of its military by 130,000, the number planned by Putin.
The official told reported that Russia is “unlikely to succeed, as Russia has historically not met personnel end strength targets."
They added: "Many of these new recruits have been observed as older, unfit and ill trained.
"So what this all suggests to us is that any additional personnel Russia is able to muster by the end of the year may not, in fact, increase overall Russian combat power."
Ukraine claims it has killed at least 50,150, along with 2,077 tanks and 4,484 armoured combat vehicles, though their estimates tend to be much higher than those released by Russia and Western countries.
Estimates vary, but CIA Director William Burns put an estimate of 15,000 troops killed by the end of July and "maybe three times that wounded."
Russia has not published its own losses since March when it claimed it had seen 1,351 killed and 3,825 wounded.
Revealing the true number in Russia is considered a breach of state secrets and could see someone sentenced to up to seven years in prison.
The UK Ministry of Defence's most recent update on the fighting in Ukraine said: "In the face of combat losses, it is likely that Russia is struggling to maintain socks of [unmanned aerial vehicles] (UAVs), exacerbated by component shortages resulting from international sanctions.
"The limited availability of reconnaissance UAVs is likely degrading commanders' tactical situational awareness and increasingly hampering Russian operations."
