Vets Face Prosthetic Delays, Uncertainty

More than 100,000 Russian service members have been disabled by Russia's War on Ukraine, with at least half undergoing amputations. Journalists from Verstka gained access to the Voronovskoye Moscow Clinical Center for Infectious Diseases, which was repurposed in the spring of 2023 to serve as a surgical hospital for operations, rehabilitation, and prosthetics for war veterans.

Initially, the Voronovskoye Center was meant to treat not just military personnel but also civil servants from occupied regions and civilians injured in fighting. However, due to a high volume of wounded service members, the center now treats only military patients. Some 6,000 vets have passed through the facility in the last two years, and about 600 are undergoing rehabilitation there.

Most of these service members have lost one or more limbs, often from grenade launcher fire, mine explosions, or kamikaze drone strikes. Data provided to Verstka show that nearly half of severe injuries occur in the first few months of a soldier's service at the front.

After limb amputations in field hospitals or facilities in occupied regions, the wounded are typically transported to larger hospitals in Rostov-on-Don, St. Petersburg, or Moscow for further surgery. They then move to hospitals, sanatoria, and rehabilitation centers like Voronovskoye.

Despite being considered a flagship facility, the center’s infrastructure is reportedly ill-prepared for amputees. It lacks elevators and sloping thresholds for wheelchairs, forcing patients in wheelchairs to struggle over door frames and those on crutches to climb stairs.

Russian authorities refer to those who fought in Ukraine as “heroes” and have promised to help them readjust to civilian life. However, the veterans quoted in the Verstka report say they do not feel supported.

“It’s like we came from the moon for everyone,” said Vitaly, from Pskov Oblast, who lost his right leg and part of his hip joint. Vitaly’s wife quit her job to care for him, including helping him use the toilet and manage a prosthesis.

“I was not happy with the doctors’ attitude,” said Igor, from Krasnodar Oblast, who joined the war effort from a penal colony. “We fought for Russia, and they talk to us in raised tones.” He said he had to wait two months for a prosthesis.

Other servicemen spoke of similar delays, often spending four to five months at the center, even though prosthetic fittings are supposed to take just a few weeks. They cite overburdened prosthetic centers and a shortage of prostheses. Despite weeks of waiting, some say a rehabilitation specialist has yet to visit.

Meanwhile, center staff told Verstka that some patients are not participating in prescribed exercises. “They just lie there and wait,” one doctor said, adding that amputees need to “work hard” to prepare their bodies for prosthetics. Exercise therapy rooms and machines reportedly go unused because rehabilitation specialists cannot force patients to build muscle strength.

Many of the veterans are unsure about what comes next for them. Some say they will spend compensation money on immediate needs but do not know how they will earn a living in future. Many remain contracted with the Ministry of Defense. Usually, they are offered positions in military registration and enlistment offices in any region of the country. There, according to Vitaly, who accepted such an offer, amputees can keep archives, deliver zinc coffins, look for those who have refused to serve in the war, and visit those who have received a summons for military service at their registered address. But the salary is not high. For instance, in Belgorod Oblast, the Ministry of Defense pays about R65 thousand (about $660) per month for jobs like these.

Others are considering civilian jobs, but they worry their prostheses will limit their employment options. The one-time compensation of R3 million (about $30,000) for injuries has already run out for some veterans. Vitaly spent his on repairs for his family’s rural home. Before the war, he worked in construction and logging and owned two tractors, but he had to sell one to cover expenses and said he could not operate the other without a leg. Debt collectors have begun calling.