A real bill No. 15517 was used for manipulation, proposing changes to some Ukrainian legal acts related to scientific and educational activities in the healthcare sector.
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The bill was submitted by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and registered by the Verkhovna Rada on August 17, 2026.
The bill proposed by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine does not suggest adopting a completely new regulation but rather supplementing the existing Fundamentals of Healthcare Law with a new Article 20¹. This article would clarify how deceased bodies, their parts, and anatomical material can be transferred and used for scientific research and medical studies.
It is stipulated that such rights would be granted only to state higher education institutions, scientific and healthcare establishments. A body could be transferred only with the written consent of the living person or, if they had not expressed their will, with the permission of relatives.
The bill separately regulates the so-called “unclaimed deceased.” If relatives refuse in writing to bury or do not express the intention to take care of the burial within the prescribed period, the body could, under certain conditions, be transferred for scientific or study purposes without their consent.
However, this would not be allowed if the person had previously declared in writing while alive that they did not agree to such use of their body.
There are many safeguards
Moreover, the bill includes clear restrictions. It would be prohibited to use bodies of unidentified persons, remains of members of defense and security forces who died while performing official duties, as well as bodies of people who died or were killed due to Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine for scientific research and medical studies.
This list also includes, among others, orphaned children and persons who died as a result of law enforcement or other force structures applying coercive measures.
The bill also stipulates that bodies could not be transferred during forensic medical examination, and the detailed procedure for their transfer and use should be approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
“Unclaimed deceased” are proposed to be considered those deceased whose authorized persons refused to bury them or did not express the intention to organize a funeral within the period established by law.
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This term legally does not mean missing or unidentified soldiers. The full text of the bill can be reviewed on the website of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.
They will also not become “biological waste”
The claim that bodies would be “written off as surgical waste” after use is misleading. Such a provision is not included in bill No. 15517. Moreover, it would contradict the sanitary rules in force in Ukraine.
Since April 1, 2025, the country has had a medical waste management procedure approved by the Ministry of Health. It clearly states that deceased bodies, remains, or ashes are not classified as medical waste.
Medical waste may include, for example, organs or tissues removed during medical procedures, but not the body or remains of a deceased person.
Their handling and burial are separately regulated by the Ukrainian Law “On Burial and Funeral Activities”.
15min verdict: false. The claim that Ukraine plans to use bodies of missing soldiers for medical studies and later “write them off as surgical waste” is false.
The bill does not provide for such provisions – on the contrary, it establishes clear prohibitions on using bodies of unidentified persons and deceased soldiers. Furthermore, remains of the deceased in Ukraine are not classified as medical waste.
This publication was prepared by 15min in cooperation with Meta, aiming to stop the spread of misleading news on social networks. More about the program and its rules – here.
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