US Army hospital in Germany treats American soldiers wounded in Ukraine

The US Army's Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany has started treating wounded American soldiers and other fighters evacuated from Ukraine, marking a notable new step in the United States' deepening involvement in the conflict12. The hospital has quietly started admitting Ukrainian Army soldiers who were wounded in combat, most of them American volunteers1. The hospital has treated 14 wounded Americans and other fighters so far, according to sources2. The hospital has previously treated wounded Ukrainian soldiers, but this is the first time it has treated Americans3.

When the war erupted in 2022, hundreds of Americans, many of them military veterans, rushed to help defend Ukraine. Nineteen months later, perhaps a few hundred are still there, volunteering for local militias or serving under contract with the Ukrainian national army2. An unknown number of them have been shot, hit by artillery, blown up by mines, or suffered other injuries2.

The Defense Department's largest hospital overseas treated its first American casualty from the battlefield in Ukraine in February 20233. The US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin approved the treatment of wounded Ukrainian soldiers at a US military hospital in Germany in June 2022, according to a memo obtained by CNN and confirmed by two US defense officials45. The plan allows for the treatment of up to 18 wounded soldiers at a time at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center46.

Key facts:

• The US Army's Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany has started treating wounded American soldiers and other fighters evacuated from Ukraine12.
• The hospital has treated 14 wounded Americans and other fighters so far, according to sources2.
• The hospital has previously treated wounded Ukrainian soldiers, but this is the first time it has treated Americans3.
• The Defense Department's largest hospital overseas treated its first American casualty from the battlefield in Ukraine in February 20233.
• The US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin approved the treatment of wounded Ukrainian soldiers at a US military hospital in Germany in June 2022, according to a memo obtained by CNN and confirmed by two US defense officials45.