A Kremlin official has stated that the high number of soldiers wounded in Ukraine has propelled Russia to become a world leader in prosthetic limb manufacturing. Deputy Defence Minister Anna Tsivilyova, reportedly a relative of President Vladimir Putin, made the remarks at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.
Tsivilyova said that those returning from the battlefield had become a 'driver' for innovation in prosthetics. 'We are probably leading in this direction now,' she said, adding that participants in the 'special military operation' had allowed Russia to reach a 'priority flagship level' in the field.
Putin last year said about 700,000 Russian troops were fighting in Ukraine, but Moscow keeps casualty figures secret. The British Ministry of Defence estimates over one million Russian troops have been killed or injured since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022. A US study puts deaths at up to 250,000 and total casualties over 950,000.
Signs of high casualties include a 12.7% year-on-year increase in earnings for funeral service providers between January and April 2025, and a rising number of veterans returning without limbs. Russian government data shows it issued 60,000 more prosthetic limbs in 2024 than in 2021, a 65% increase.
Tsivilyova has been sanctioned by the US, EU and UK for her role in the Ukraine offensive. The UK named her 'Putin's first cousin once removed', and the EU listed her as a 'close relative' of the Kremlin leader.
