With the ongoing war in Ukraine, the number of Ukrainians who have to live without a limb continues to grow. Estimates vary from tens of thousands to more than 100,000. In the past, during the Soviet Union era, these war victims were always hidden away. Many people in Ukraine now believe this must change.
"They were not allowed to appear in public. We distance ourselves from this practice," says Oleh Symoroz of the Protez Foundation, an American-Ukrainian organization with a practice in the heart of Kyiv.
Symoroz was driving at the front when he hit an anti-tank mine. He was seriously injured. Both his legs were amputated well above the knee. The Protez Foundation specializes in the most difficult cases, where little remains of the limbs. Making good prostheses for these cases is difficult and especially costly.
Electronic limbs
Symoroz jokes that his two prostheses cost more than his car, over 100,000 dollars: "There are microprocessors in the knees that correct my movements."
Soldier Dmytro had just captured a Russian prisoner of war near Kharkiv when he was attacked by an FPV (first person view) drone. Little remains of his face. He can still see a little with one eye. Dmytro has a family and children and is training to become a barista.
On Khreshchatyk, roughly the Champs-Élysées of Kyiv, Dmytro is learning to find his way. The Protez Foundation also specializes in visual impairments.
In the most expensive place in Kyiv
It is striking that the foundation is located in about the most expensive place in the Ukrainian capital. Symoroz explains that there is a philosophy behind the choice for the central and historic location near Maidan: "It is about the position of people who have lost limbs: civilians, children, but in most cases Ukrainian veterans," he says.
"These are Ukrainian soldiers who have done a lot to keep this country alive. We did not want to place a fence somewhere on the outskirts of the city so that our people would feel comfortable there. That is a false form of comfort, both for the veteran and for the shopping public who then do not have to see them."
Visible and proud
Symoroz: "We show that these people do not bite. They come with their cars, do their thing, stroll around, have lunch. Their children come here. We are also very proud to be like this."
Since the start of the war, the Protez Foundation has provided 2,500 prostheses free of charge to 1,300 patients. That is only a small number compared to the number of Ukrainians who have lost limbs. Estimates of the numbers vary from 50,000 to over 100,000 civilians and soldiers.
Civilized country
The foundation's choice for the expensive city center is about more than acceptance and integration. The location on Khreshchatyk also represents a break with the Soviet past.
Symoroz: "We have a very difficult past. We experienced the Soviet occupation, with a very inappropriate attitude towards civilians who had lost limbs, especially during World War II and in Afghanistan."
In 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. The war lasted ten years; many who fought came from the Soviet republic of Ukraine and returned disabled.
"They were taken to remote places. That does not work, especially if we want to become a normal, civilized country in the future. In fact, society is changing, and I am proud of that," says Symoroz, who, besides two prostheses, has scars almost everywhere, on his hands, arms, chest, and forehead.
Confidence in the future
At the entrance of the treatment center, Alexander is patiently waiting on a comfortable bench together with his teenage son. The son is slouched with a laptop, not looking up or around. He seems used to his father missing his left lower leg, even though Alexander stepped on a landmine only a year ago.
He is a computer programmer and says he is glad the Kyiv branch of the foundation is located at Maidan, the Independence Square: "So much has happened here in which I also participated. Everyone was here, at Maidan, basically since 2011, when the Orange Revolution took place. Those are all memories."
Alexander steps carefully on his prosthesis. Specialists file and screw on it so that it fits better. The programmer is full of confidence in the future: "If I did not see a future, I would not be here. Then it would probably be more difficult. We will win. The war will end. We will continue to exist. I think the country will only become stronger; our people are the strongest."