By Olha Chepil | 2025-10-01

Ukrainian surgeons are turning battlefield wounds into breakthroughs, using 3D printing, titanium and bionics to help wounded soldiers reclaim their lives.

Once limited to basic socket prostheses, patients now benefit from digital modeling, personalized recovery plans and advanced techniques like osseointegration, in which an implant anchors directly into the bone for greater range of motion.

"Our goal is to restore as much functionality as possible and help the patient resume living a full life," Danylo Linenko, a Ukrainian prosthetist and orthopedist, told Kontur.

Next-generation prostheses

Ukraine is adopting advanced prosthetic care, including osseointegration, where a titanium implant is anchored into the bone and a prosthesis attaches directly to it. Linenko said combining this method with digital modeling restores nearly full range of motion.

"In the past a socket prosthesis limited freedom of movement, but now with the implant all the joints of the prosthesis can be activated," he told Kontur.

Unlike traditional sockets, which need constant adjustment, the implant provides stability and freedom.

Ukrainian engineers are also building bionic prostheses with sensors that pick up signals from muscles and nerves, allowing patients to move more naturally.

"I have a sleeve with 16 sensors. They read signals from the muscles. I tense a muscle to lower my elbow and the prosthesis moves," Oleksandr Zozuliak, a service member and technician at the Tytanovi Rehabilitation Center, told Kontur.

Tytanovi is the only facility in Ukraine performing complex osseointegration surgeries. Its in-house bionic lab assembles each prosthesis by hand, tailoring components to every patient. Without mass production, rehabilitation moves quickly and effectively.

"There isn't a single facility in the world that does as many osseointegrative interventions and makes as many multifunctional prostheses as we do," Linenko said.

Doctors often combine methods depending on the injury. Veteran Oleksandr Tolochenko, for example, uses a traditional prosthesis on one leg and osseointegration on the other.

"I was depressed after I was wounded, but now I'm very active," he told Kontur. "I want to do away with the wheelchair and walk on the prostheses all the time. Now I have many sports medals -- I've competed internationally."

After a mine blast took his legs, Tolochenko said he sank into depression. Prosthetic care helped him recover, train intensively, motivate others and even open a café.

"I really want to go through rehab and stay at the rehab center to help other people," he said.

The Tytanovi center operates entirely on donations and sponsorships.

3D personalization

Facial reconstruction has become one of Ukraine's most complex medical challenges. Unlike limb prosthetics, every facial injury is unique and demands a tailored approach.

"The particular feature of facial bones is that when they're destroyed, there's always a singular combination of damage, and you can't replace them with standard methods," Natalia Liutikova, founder of the Doctors for Heroes foundation, told Kontur.

To rebuild damaged faces, Ukrainian surgeons and bioengineers design custom implants through computer modeling, then use 3D printers to produce them from medical titanium or other safe materials.

Service member Vyacheslav Cherniy showed how effective the new methods can be. A blast shattered half his skull, but surgeons rebuilt it with implants and a skin graft. He is now preparing for an eye prosthesis.

"In theory, if there are no complications -- and I was lucky not to have any -- you can truly get a great result six months after an injury," he told Kontur.

Liutikova said Ukraine is one of only a few countries using such technologies widely to treat combat wounds, which she noted are "multilayered and always very infected," often involving burns and chemical or thermal damage.

Social and professional integration

Ukrainian veterans with prostheses are finding acceptance in society through cultural and professional initiatives that ease their return to daily life.

At Ukrainian Fashion Week, designer Andreas Moskin's spring-summer 2026 show featured amputee veterans who had completed prosthetic care and rehabilitation.

"Sitting there and seeing my buddies with prostheses on the runway made me feel proud," said Cherniy. "This isn't just fashion -- it's proof that we're still in commission in life and in society."

Modern prosthetics and rehabilitation help amputees return to work, school and hobbies. Ukrainian specialists now share their expertise with leading European clinics.

"Surgeons are coming to Ukraine in droves from around the world primarily to learn from our surgeons," said Liutikova, adding that recovery depends on medicine but also on the combination of technology, experience and social support.

"In the last three and a half years our doctors have gained the most experience in overcoming such injuries and have achieved the best results," she said.