Number of Russians Needing Prosthetic Limbs has Grown Dramatically Since Start of Putin’s War in Ukraine, Official Russian Data Show

Paul Goble

            Staunton, May 25 – The Russian government has been extremely chary in releasing data about the number of killed and wounded in Putin’s war in Ukraine. But the official agency responsible for providing support to those who need artificial limbs and other prosthetic devices has now released data showing documenting just how great the losses Russian forces have been.

            The Social Insurance Foundation now reports the number of people needing prosthetics jumped by 42 percent between 2022 and 2023 after rising no more than seven percent a year over the previous decade (t.me/svobodnieslova/4932 and https://www.svoboda.org/a/vyorstka-v-rf-rekordno-vyroslo-chislo-invalidov-bez-nog/32962328.html).

            Obviously, some of this increase is the result of accidents and medical conditions not connected with the war; but if previous increases of seven percent a year are subtracted, that means that more than 80 percent of the increase of some 137,000 invalids is the result of Russian military actions in Ukraine.

            But equally obvious are three other factors which suggest that Russian losses are even higher than the Social Insurance Foundation is reporting. First, there is widespread falsification of such data; second, there is a significant lag time between when injuries are incurred and prosthetics provided; and third, Moscow is making it harder for invalids to get such equipmen (spektr.press/katastroficheskie-razmery-vlasti-rf-urezali-kompensacii-invalidam-za-protezy-i-kolyaski/).

            For background on Russian statistics concerning invalids since the start of the war in Ukraine, see windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2023/04/average-age-of-russians-left-without.html windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2023/11/moscows-decision-to-reduce-support-for.html and windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2023/10/number-of-invalids-among-russian-men.html.