We’re approaching six months since the invasion of Ukraine began, and the human toll continues to rise. The most recent official tally from the United Nations showed nearly 12,000 civilians killed or injured since the invasion began; that doesn’t include military casualties.
While there’s no precise count of people (both civilians and soldiers) who’ve lost limbs in the conflict, most estimates put the number well north of 1,000. As we described earlier this summer, getting help to those people is a sticky logistical widget. But multiple organizations have been chipping away at the problem in various ways, and real progress is starting to happen.
Below we document one such effort, many weeks in the planning: a shipment of hundreds of prosthetic devices and components to a clinic in Odessa, where demand for services far outweighs capacity. Engineered through the combined efforts of the Limbs for Life Foundation and Penta Prosthetics, the shipment will enable dozens of new amputees to begin the process of healing.
None of this would be possible without support from prosthetic clinics, individual amputees, and everyone else in the limb-loss community. So as you make the virtual journey from here to Odessa, please consider donating your time, money, or used prosthetic devices to one of the organizations listed below the map. Start your journey:
How You Can Help Ukrainian Amputees
All of the following organizations are active in supporting people who’ve lost limbs in the invasion of Ukraine.
Brothers Brother Foundation
Courage Ukraine
Designed to Live Latvia
Limbs for Liberty
Limbs for Life
Penta Prosthetics
Prosthetika
Protez Foundation
Right 2 Walk Foundation
Unlimited Tomorrow