Ukraine’s Amputation Crisis

The trauma inflicted upon the Ukrainian service members and civilians by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war is multidimensional. At the frontline, it is driven by the heavy deployment of artillery shells, drones, and mines that have fundamentally reshaped the nature of battlefield injuries, with shrapnel wounds dominating over bullet wounds. While advanced tactical medicine and widespread tourniquet use increase survival rates of Ukrainian service members, a staggering 64% of cases where tourniquets are applied ultimately require amputation due to a prolonged lack of blood flow and subsequent tissue death.

The combination of the aforementioned battlefield factors has created an unprecedented crisis, with limb injuries comprising between 52% and 63% of all casualties. In 2022 alone, the rate of amputations tripled compared to 2014-2021, when Russia had already occupied Crimea and parts of the Donbas. Official Ukrainian clinical registries record 93,500 total amputations performed between 2022 and late 2024. This figure has since risen and is expected to continue to rise as the war persists.

Engineering New Limbs

As amputees began returning from the frontline, the high demand for lower- and upper-limb prosthetics led to the rapid development of Ukraine’s prosthetic industry. The prosthetic devices fall into two main categories based on their use case: cosmetic (mostly designed for aesthetic reasons, allowing the user to perform the most basic actions) and functional (partially restoring the user’s mobility).

The process of prosthesis creation is intricate, as each prosthetic device is tailored to the individual user. Beyond balancing anatomy and biomechanics, there are many individual variables to consider, including body parameters, the level of amputation, lifestyle, future occupational aspirations, and other personal needs. For example, for users who want to continue engaging in physical activities such as running, there are specialized modern sports leg prosthetics with a special foot construction and hinge joints. Similarly, there are prostheses specifically designed for mountaineering, weightlifting, martial arts, fencing, and even bathing.

The Superhumans Center

Generally, it takes two to four weeks after amputation for the residual limb to heal enough to be prepared for prosthetics. In addition, as the prostheses cannot be properly fitted in case of muscle atrophy, physical rehabilitation plays a pivotal role. To expand high-quality rehabilitation opportunities beyond what the public healthcare system can offer on its own, private initiatives and charitable foundations have stepped in. The most prominent example is likely the Superhumans Center, a state-independent, donor-funded war trauma rehabilitation center that was opened in 2023 in the town of Vynnyky, just outside of Lviv. Since then, it has expanded with one further branch in central Ukraine’s Dnipro and another currently under construction in Odesa. Superhumans specializes in reconstructive surgery, prosthetics, rehabilitation, and psychological support, having already performed over 2,000 surgeries and provided more than 2,600 prostheses since 2023. Through occupational, physical, and hydrotherapy, the center prepares patients for prosthetic devices free of charge, which the center’s specialists custom-fit, adjust, and help maintain long-term.

While such access to physical rehabilitation is a critical component of recovery, it represents only one dimension of post-war healing. Next to physical trauma, Ukrainian veterans experience significant psychological distress resulting from combat exposure, the loss of comrades, economic instability, and a lack of institutional support. Certain psychological trauma remains highly stigmatized, especially such involving service members’ experiences with sexual violence.

Defining Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV)

The term CRSV encompasses sexual assault, coercion, and gender-based harm committed during war. Traditionally, it has been defined as direct, physical violence, including rape, sexualized torture and humiliation, non-penetrative assaults, and forced pregnancy. These acts target the body as the primary site of domination. Yet such definitions risk excluding indirect structural and reproductive harms, such as forced prostitution and reproductive policies aimed at ethnic expansion, that also weaponize gender and sexuality.

Documenting CRSV in Ukraine: The UN Report

In April 2026, the UN released the Report of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, where the Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine verified 310 cases of CRSV, including rape, gang rape, genital mutilation, electric shocks to reproductive organs, and beatings to the genitals. This affected 280 men, 26 women, and 4 girls and was perpetrated by Russian armed and security forces. Of the 310 cases documented, 232 involved multiple forms of sexual violence, while 195 involved multiple incidents of sexual violence. Most cases occurred in detention centers, at checkpoints, and in the occupied territories, with 96% of released Ukrainian prisoners of war and 84% of released civilian detainees providing accounts of torture and ill-treatment. The Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine also documented 31 cases of CRSV implicating Ukrainian armed forces, perpetrated against 27 men and 4 women.

Further underscoring the persistence of these abuses, the June 2026 Report of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict reported that two cases of rape and six cases of other forms of sexual violence perpetrated against 4 girls were attributed to the Russian armed forces. Two of these girls were subjected to several forms of sexual violence.

Laws vs. Reality

In total, over 200,000 international crime cases have been opened by Ukrainian authorities, including cases of CRSV. While prohibitions exist under international law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Rome Statute, prosecutions are hindered by stigma-induced silence and verification challenges. The Government of Ukraine adopted Law No. 4067-IX in November 2024, which covered the legal and social protection of persons affected by sexual violence related to the war. However, as of March 2026, the Cabinet of Ministers has not yet adopted the bylaws necessary for its implementation, preventing survivors from accessing the law’s promised protections.

Long-Term Reintegration

Against this backdrop of legal and institutional gaps, access to physical rehabilitation is a critical component of recovery, but represents only one dimension of post-war healing. For Ukraine’s growing population of amputees and other war survivors, recovery does not end when a prosthetic limb is fitted or a physical wound heals. Many must navigate the lasting effects of CRSV, torture, or captivity, while rebuilding their lives in communities physically and emotionally devastated by the war. Recovery, therefore, encompasses not only rehabilitation services but also sustained psychological support, social acceptance, and reintegration pathways that enable survivors to reclaim their identity and a sense of belonging.