Ukrainians Are Back on the Field

With the help of robotics, Ukrainian soldiers can receive new limbs

A Ukrainian soldier stacking cubes with a bionic arm. Image provided by CNN

Ukraine and Russia have been engaged in a conflict for over two years. On the battlefield, many Ukrainian soldiers have lost limbs, such as arms and legs. Because of two companies, some Ukrainian soldiers can regain their lost limbs and maybe even go back to the army.

Esper Bionics

According to CNN, since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, around 20,000 Ukrainians have lost limbs. Valera Kucherenko, for example, lost both his hands in a grenade attack on a fateful October night in 2023. He told CNN that prosthetics were made so he could return to the army.

Esper Bionics, a Ukrainian-US-based company, created the Esper Hand, with which Kucherenko was fitted. Esper explains that although AI has disrupted many industries, it has also made many solutions possible. For example, AI enables the Esper Hand prosthetic to rapidly learn its user’s behavior and select necessary hand grips. Dima Gazda, CEO of Esper Bionics, explained that if he takes a cup from a table several times, the system will understand his hand movements and grips the next day.

AI isn’t the only thing helping users regain their functions faster. Bionic prosthetics are being made more precisely to mimic human limbs. The Esper Hand has six different motors, one for each finger and two for the thumb, meaning each finger can move separately.

According to Esper Bionics, 70 Ukrainian soldiers are currently serving with Esper Hands. However, the need greatly outnumbers the supply, with around 170 people on the waitlist. With more and more fighting in Ukraine, the number of those in need will climb.

Life Bridge Ukraine

According to CNN, a German project called “Life Bridge Ukraine” is also helping injured Ukrainian soldiers. Situated in Berlin, they create robotic limbs that are suited to one’s needs. Sometimes, however, the severity of the amputations conducted to save the soldiers’ lives leaves the survivors with stumps. It doesn’t allow for the fitting of regular-sized prosthetics: they need completely different requirements.

With new legs prosthetic legs, some soldiers need to learn how to use them and adjust to this new way of living. However, their lives could become much better than they were without these prosthetics.

The need

Due to the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia, an increasing number of individuals will suffer limb loss and require amputations. With the help of AI and bionics, Ukrainian soldiers can have an easier life and potentially return to the army to aid Ukraine.