Propagandists spread information that, according to various estimates, in Ukraine, supposedly from 200 to 500 thousand people have already lost limbs, and 50 thousand Ukrainian military personnel have turned to the Ottobock company, which develops prosthetics. This is manipulation.

This case was studied by specialists from the VoxUkraine project. It turned out that the information mentioned was being manipulated. Firstly, Russian propaganda does not cite a single source from which the figures about 200-500 thousand people who lost limbs come from. There is only a link to the Ottobock company, which allegedly ordered prosthetics for 50 thousand Ukrainian soldiers. Secondly, presumably, the propagandists had in mind an article by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), which directly quoted the German company Ottobock, providing data on the number of prosthetics ordered by Ukrainians. However, the article is talking about 20-50 thousand Ukrainians, and not just military personnel who lost limbs, and by no means hundreds of thousands. In addition, 50 thousand is a rough estimate based on data from the state and medical partners of the total number of amputees, but not the number of Ottobock clients.

Russian propaganda is trying to scare Ukrainians and encourage us to oppose the current government by exaggerating the number of compatriots who have had one or two limbs amputated. In this case, propagandists are manipulating a sensitive topic. Previously, we analyzed the Russian manipulation that in Ukraine they allegedly want to abolish disability in order to send more people to the front.