"We are probably the leading country in this field today. The campaign in Ukraine has helped us prioritize the prosthetic industry and achieve a high level of expertise," Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anna Tsivilyova, who is in charge of soldier welfare, said on 5/9 at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.

She said Russia has invested heavily in resources and money, setting high standards for the prosthetic industry, creating great opportunities, and helping Russia surpass China as well as any other European country in this field.

Putin observes a Russian soldier training after being fitted with a prosthetic leg at the National Medical Research Center for Traumatology and Orthopedics in Moscow on 3/12/2024. Photo: Kremlin

Tsivilyova said that before the war, 11.5 million Russians in need of prosthetics or treatment were not fully supported, but after the war in Ukraine broke out, the situation changed.

"Wounded soldiers returning from the war have become a driving force for development in this field, and we are accumulating experience on a global scale," she continued. This is a rare occasion for a senior Russian official to mention the large number of people injured in the Ukraine conflict, though no specific figures were given.

According to the Russian Deputy Defense Minister, the country has been rehabilitating soldiers blinded by the war and implanting devices for those with hearing loss. She mentioned a soldier she met in St. Petersburg who lost fingers and toes from crawling for days in the snow to return from the front line.

Russian government data shows that the country provided 60,000 more prosthetics in 2024 compared to 2021, a 65% increase. Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin said about 700,000 Russian troops are fighting in Ukraine, but did not disclose the number of casualties.

The Russian president poses with soldiers injured in the Russia-Ukraine war who have been fitted with prosthetics at the center. Photo: Kremlin

The Russian president poses with soldiers injured in the Russia-Ukraine war who have been fitted with prosthetics at the center. Photo: Kremlin

According to independent monitoring organizations, tens of thousands of soldiers from both sides have been killed and hundreds of thousands injured since the conflict began in 2/2022. Neither Russia nor Ukraine has released casualty statistics for the war.

Hong Hanh (Theo Business Insider)