Russia has allegedly conducted artillery and pharmacological tests on military volunteers to assess their impact on combat effectiveness, according to an investigation by local outlet Proekt.
The report claimed that the State Research Institute of Military Medicine, operating under the Russian Ministry of Defense, has held exclusive authorization since 2015 to carry out human experiments within the agency.
Activities were confirmed by the institute’s director, Sergei Chepur, in a study published in the scientific journal Voyennyy Zhurnal.
Weapons Testing
At a 2023 conference in St. Petersburg, Chepur revealed artillery shells were tested on volunteers to determine the type and force required “for the destruction or incapacitation of enemy manpower.”
Trials took place at a site replicating Russian and NATO-style structures, where experts monitored cardiovascular and nervous system responses and collected biological samples to measure how injuries varied with distance from 122-millimeter and 300-millimeter blasts.
Materials cited in the investigation said participants experienced sharp blood pressure changes, neurological disruption, and impaired cognitive and sensory functions.
The results could support the use of munitions designed to inflict “guaranteed harm” at a defined severity level.
Drug and Chemical Research
Separately, the institute tests performance-enhancing drugs and other substances affecting “higher nervous activity,” which Chepur said require trials on “healthy volunteer servicemen” rather than animal subjects.
The program also evaluates protective measures against extreme conditions and other military applications.
Proekt further described the organization as a critical asset to Moscow’s chemical weapons program and implied that Chepur advised intelligence officers linked to the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in the UK.
To support the overall work for the projects, a 100-bed clinical research center opened in 2018 with intensive care, surgical, and therapy units, which recorded more than 300 cases in its first year involving personnel testing weapons, drugs, and vaccines.
