International Prosthetic Messages | German prosthetic exports to Russia surge as Ukraine war leads to surge in amputations

Germany continues to supply Russia with prosthetic limbs through a number of German manufacturers, and the supply of these prosthetics has grown significantly, both in terms of value and tonnage, according to data obtained by Deutsche Welle from the German Federal Statistics Office (Destatis) on November 29.

Exports classified as "prosthetics and other prosthetic products" totaled $52.6 million in 2024, nearly double the roughly $27.5 million exports in 2023 and 2022. Physical shipments have also grown significantly, from about 50 tons in the previous two years to more than 100 tons in 2024. Before the war between Russia and Ukraine, Germany's annual prosthetic limb exports were worth between $16.5 million and $22 million, with annual shipments of 60 to 75 tons.

This upward trend continues into 2025. In the first nine months alone, Germany exported $56.7 million worth of prosthetics and related products to Russia, already exceeding the export volume for all of 2024. Exports of "artificial joints" also grew, while shipments of dental prostheses fell to less than half their pre-war levels.

Russian sales accounted for 8.8% of global revenue in the first half of 2025 and 6.8% of global revenue in 2024, according to company data, according to Ottobock.

According to a report by Deutsche Welle citing the International Institute for Strategic Studies, 611,000 Russian military personnel will be injured by the end of 2024, of which 376,000 will be disabled. Russian Deputy Minister of Labor Oleksiy Vovchenko admitted that more than half of the cases of disability involved amputations - 80% of them were legs and 20% were arms. This means that even a year ago, the number of soldiers who lost limbs may have exceeded 180,000.

Russian authorities are significantly increasing spending on prosthetics. The 2026 federal budget allocates more than 98 billion rubles for "rehabilitation technology equipment". By comparison, only $367 million is allocated each year in fiscal year 2020-2021; $411 million in 2022; $466 million in 2023; and nearly $621 million in 2024. Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anna Tsivilyova called the move a "huge investment" and claimed that Russia was "ahead of many countries" in the development of prosthetics and "could very well become a leader."

Russian manufacturers are also expanding production, according to Deutsche Welle. Steplife, one of Russia's largest prosthetic limb manufacturers, said that between 2022 and 2024, Russian companies' prosthetic limb sales will increase by an average of 49% per year.

Despite rapid growth, Russian prosthetic limb production only meets about half of total demand. In the field of high-tech prosthetics, domestic production capacity is even lower—a considerable number of advanced prostheses still rely on imports.