During the war, tens of thousands of Ukrainians lost limbs

Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, between 20 and 50 thousand Ukrainians have been seriously injured, leading to the amputation of one or more limbs. about this The Wall Street Journal writes , citing data from the Ukrainian charitable organization Houp Foundation and the German manufacturer of prosthetics Ottobock.

The German company clarified that the data on 50 thousand Ukrainians who lost limbs is based on information from the government and medical institutions. In turn, the publication notes that the real figure may be even higher, since the process of prosthetics takes a lot of time.

According to the Houp Foundation, during the war, 200 thousand Ukrainians were seriously injured, every tenth of whom doctors had to amputate one or more limbs.

According to the WSJ, these figures are comparable to the First World War, when 67 thousand residents of Germany and 41 thousand residents of Great Britain lost limbs. Despite the fact that at that time amputation was often the only way to save the life of a seriously wounded person.

The publication notes that at the beginning of the war, the main causes of amputations were injuries received during artillery and rocket attacks. In recent months, people who have been blown up by mines have more often lost their limbs.

Doctor Konstantin Militsa told reporters that in the Zaporozhye region, where the most intense fighting is currently taking place, doctors have to amputate the limbs of 40-80% of incoming patients.

In turn, Aaron Epstein, who heads a global group of military surgeons that trains Ukrainian doctors, said that Western military medicine has not encountered so many severe injuries requiring amputations since World War II.

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