Pentagon chief approves plan to treat wounded Ukrainian soldiers at US military hospital in Germany

• Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has approved treating Ukrainian troops at a US military hospital.
• Up to 18 soldiers may be attended to at a time at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has approved a plan to treat wounded Ukrainian troops at a US military hospital in Germany, according to several media reports.

Austin had, on May 26, verbally greenlighted the treatment of Ukrainian soldiers at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in western Germany, CNN reported, citing a Pentagon memo.

The defense chief then formalized the decision in a memo on June 29, per CNN. The outlet added that the approval allows up to 18 Ukrainian troops to be treated at a time.

The memo marks the first time Ukraine's wounded troops have been offered treatment at a US military hospital since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion in February.

An anonymous US official said no Ukrainian troops had been treated at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center yet, according to a Reuters report published on Tuesday evening.

The center is the largest American military hospital outside the US and is located near the Ramstein Air Base.

Meanwhile, several Ukrainian soldiers have already received treatment at civilian hospitals in the US. A video posted on Tuesday by Anton Geraschenko, an adviser to Ukraine's Minister for Internal Affairs, showed soldiers testing the prosthetic legs they were fitted with at a Chicago medical facility.