Pentagon chief Austin signs off on treating Ukrainian troops at U.S. military hospital

Wounded Ukrainian soldiers can now be treated at a U.S. military hospital for the first time since Russia invaded in late February.

A plan approved by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin allows medical treatment for up to 18 wounded soldiers at a time at the Pentagon’s Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.

For decades, Landstuhl has provided medical treatment for U.S. troops. Many soldiers wounded in Afghanistan and Iraq received early treatment there before being shipped back to the U.S.

Mr. Austin provided verbal guidance in May to begin offering treatment to wounded Ukrainian soldiers and later formalized the plan in a memo titled “Guidance for Medical Treatment of Wounded Ukrainian Service Members,” according to CNN.

An official with U.S. European Command said Landstuhl has yet to treat any wounded Ukrainian troops, CNN reported.