On 2 August 2023, a Wall Street Journal investigation found that Ukrainian amputations in the war came to between 20,000 and 50,000- including both military and civilians. WSJ's estimate is based on data from the world's largest prosthetics manufacturer, Ottobock. In comparison, during World War I, 41,000 British and 67,000 Germans needed amputations. For background, the US (population 330mil) experiences 185,000 amputations per year. If Ukraine (population 44 million) had a similar pre-war all-causes amputation rate, this would amount to approximately 25,000 amputations/yr. So wartime amputations would represent a 50-100% annual surge over normal amputation events (i.e. those caused by trauma, medical conditions, etc). While WWI featured a larger scale of combatant forces and casualties, modern-day antibiotics, surgical techniques, and frontline medical interventions allow a greater portion of those who experience loss of limb to survive their injury.
After WWII, the USSR took pains to hide war amputees from social spaces and official media images. In modern Ukraine, various governmental, civil society and international groups are beginning the long process of addressing the war's legacy of amputees. Ukrainian public spaces are generally not engineered to be handicap-friendly. Major conversations about legislating equal access measures for the disabled do not seem to have emerged yet; these may be forthcoming as war wounded become increasingly visible in the public eye.
There are currently over 80 prosthetics fitters in Ukraine, many of these having opened since the 2022 Russian invasion. In much of Europe and the US, a prosthetic leg can cost between $3,000-$24.000, and a bionic arm may cost $20,000-80,000 USD. The maximum Ukrainian government coverage for a prosthesis is about $50,000, and compensation amounts for military service members are three times higher than for civilians. A Ukrainian information center for amputees, Protez Hub, finds that 'current government funding for prosthetics is sufficient in the predominant number of cases, however providers said that additional funding was required in civilian cases'. Protez's polls also found that the approximate ratio of upper limb to lower limb amputations is 35% to 65%. Prosthetics require a lifetime of maintenance and parts replacement/prosthetic updates. Protez find that the Ukrainian prosthetics industry is well-developed, and there is healthy competition. The industry continues to develop further, and is coping with the current higher-than-normal number of amputees.
Some Ukrainians injured early in the war have received advanced prosthetics, and have won medals in competitions such as the international Invictus Games and US Warrior Games.
Anastasia Shestopal, athlete, Tiktok and Instagram influencer, lost her leg in the
Kramatorsk railway station bombing in April 2022. Photo by Ukrainian Vogue Visible social project
Porter, Tom (2 August 2023), "Amputations in Ukraine are as widespread as in the Trenches of World War I due to Russia's heavy use of mines and artillery: report" Business Insider.
1 Aug 2023, Wall Street Journal: In Ukraine, Amputations already evoke scale of WW1
Nov 2023: Vogue: Visible: Amputees in Vogue Shoot
