President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon.
What shall we begin with, Ms Skvortsova?
Head of the Federal Medical-Biological Agency Veronika Skvortsova: If I may, Mr President, I’d like to address the participation of the Federal Medical-Biological Agency (FMBA) in the special military operation.
From the very beginning of the operation, FMBA units, comprising combined mobile medical teams, have been actively involved in addressing the medical and sanitary consequences of hostilities in the Donetsk People’s Republic, the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, as well as sabotage attacks in the Belgorod Region, Crimea, and during emergency situations.
The first months of our work highlighted the urgent need for a significant modernisation of the mobile medical care system and the development of a new specialised medical capability within the agency.
A dedicated department and specialised units were established, incorporating rapid response teams for radiation, chemical, and biological reconnaissance, as well as for identifying hazardous factors and implementing protective measures. Additionally, mobile medical teams composed of experienced specialists were formed to deliver specialised, including high-tech, medical care in combat conditions. These teams are equipped to perform surgical procedures and resuscitation efforts in the field.
To ensure the efficiency of operations, the vehicles underwent comprehensive modernisation. Specialised medical-technical equipment was developed specifically for radiological, toxicological, and biological reconnaissance vehicles, which are fully outfitted with advanced portable digital tools designed by the FMBA’s centre. These devices function within a unified information system, enabling real-time operation.
Notably, armoured ambulances have been introduced, along with specialised ambulances featuring fragmentation protection made from high-density polyethylene and Kevlar. These multilayer materials, developed in the experimental workshops of the FMBA, are used to reinforce vehicles and construct stretchers for safe evacuation of the wounded. They are capable of withstanding damage fragments equivalent up to 110 grammes of TNT. Additionally, KAMAZ-based vehicles have been equipped with built-in operating rooms and resuscitation units, enabling the provision of critical surgical and resuscitation care both during transportation and in field conditions.
Our units operate in close coordination with the Defence Ministry, maintaining direct contact with their medical divisions, and have proven their effectiveness. For instance, on the night of August 7, during an enemy attack on the border areas of the Kursk Region, we swiftly relocated a team of 200 personnel to our medical base in Kurchatov in just four hours. This deployment included 180 highly qualified specialists, 68 surgeons across various specialties, resuscitation experts, radiation, chemical, and biological protection teams, as well as the necessary transport, including armoured vehicles. This enabled our unit to evacuate the wounded or affected individuals directly from the combat zone.
During the first weeks, medical help was provided to 300–400 wounded every day. Up to 60 surgeries were performed daily at six concurrently operating surgical facilities. As of today, in the Kursk Region, over 5,500 patients have received medical help, more than 3,000 surgeries have been performed, and over 2,000 people have been evacuated. We established a mobile hospital with 118 beds located just 35 kilometres from the border areas with ongoing combat operations.
Our medical teams continue to carry out the assigned tasks in five areas and to work closely with the Defence Ministry. To date, medical help has been provided to over 125,000 patients, among them 77,000 servicemen.
Specialised inpatient care is provided at 17 FMBA medical centres, including the one that you opened in Mariupol in late 2023. That centre has been in operation since January.
Vladimir Putin: It turned out to be an excellent, beautiful centre.
Veronika Skvortsova: It is an excellent centre, and it is in high demand. It has already provided help to over 41,000 patients, both civilians and military personnel, with surgical interventions performed on over 2,500 wounded.
I briefly touched on the comprehensive rehabilitation and recovery treatment system for servicemen during the Sports Council meeting. Rehabilitation and recovery services are currently provided at 69 Agency’s facilities.
I would like to note that in October 2023, in collaboration with the Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation and the Ministry of Industry and Trade, we piloted customised prosthetics for the wounded personnel who had lost limbs, integrating it into a continuous rehabilitation cycle. The prosthetics care was provided at the bedside, and this approach proved so successful and so significantly enhanced recovery efficiency and shortened the re-socialisation period, that we decided to scale it up this year. In less than six months, we established a new combined prosthetics and rehabilitation centre in the Moscow Region which will open in January 2025 and will handle both custom prosthetic production and comprehensive rehabilitation.
Last year, in response to the needs primarily arising from the special military operation, we opened a medical and psychological support centre which enjoys high demand. Its specialists provide both emergency assistance and long-term support for servicemen and their families. Importantly, they train specialists. Over the year, 92 specialists were trained for the Defence Ministry hospitals and branches of the Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation. These experts also travel to regional branches of the Foundation upon request to provide assistance, give master classes, and more.
Another important aspect that needs to be taken into account is the growing need for blood and blood components. Since the FMBA is the national coordinator and operator of the blood service, we are currently meeting the demand nationwide, including the Defence Ministry and other military units. Whole blood collection has increased by 49 percent, and plasma and other components by 34 percent.
t is noteworthy that since 2022 we have more than doubled the strategic reserve of blood and its components, ensuring robust protection in emergencies of any magnitude. Following your instruction to achieve national self-sufficiency in blood-derived pharmaceuticals, we have increased the collection of plasma for production purposes twentyfold since 2021, rising from 30,000 litres to 600,000 litres this year.
Vladimir Putin: Twentyfold? That is indeed impressive.
Veronika Skvortsova: Indeed, this volume facilitates the production of essential preparations such as albumin and immunoglobulins. This achievement is largely due to the expansion of the donor movement, with the number of donors rising by 30 percent.
Notably, 99 percent of Russian donors contribute blood voluntarily, motivated by altruism and solidarity with their compatriots, with 81 percent being repeat donors. It is this spirit of donation that has underpinned the transformation and increased supply.
Additionally, as per your instructions, we established the Federal Register of Bone Marrow and Haematopoietic Cell Donors, which has been operational since September 1, 2022, formed through the consolidation of 11 regional registers. At inception, these registers contained 112,000 potential donors, accumulated over a decade.
Vladimir Putin: A fourfold increase?
Veronika Skvortsova: Precisely, in two years, there has been a fourfold enhancement in the efficiency of identifying unrelated donors, now reaching 78 percent, alongside an increase in unrelated transplantations. We aim to expand this to 500,000 next year, thereby providing at least 90 percent of Russians in need with compatible donors domestically, while maintaining all connections with international registries, which actively use our register and we have the opportunity to search theirs.
Mr President, I wish to report on a critical area for our Agency, which is our primary mandate: research, development, and innovation in biotechnology.
In recent years, we have successfully established a robust research cluster comprising 35 R&D centres, including eight strategic enterprises. This infrastructure supports the entire development process, from conceptualisation and foundational research to prototype creation, testing, production transition, and practical application.
Our second achievement is that, on the basis of these centres, we have deployed standardised technological platforms based on advanced, science-intensive technologies. These platforms enable the rapid assembly of specific biotechnological components through developed algorithms, provided they share a unified structure and mode of action.
These two efforts – the establishment of a research cluster and creation of technological platforms – have accelerated the innovation process considerably and enhanced development efficiency. Consequently, from 2020 to 2024, we have not only developed over 100 products, including medicines, diagnostic kits, and medical devices, but also comprehensively tested and registered them for practical use.
Vladimir Putin: Is cancer immunotherapy feasible?
Veronika Skvortsova: Yes, I would like to elaborate further on this topic.
To be continued.