The CEO of Metinvest Group took part in the forum “Brave step: a step towards defenders,” which took place in early October in Kyiv. During the event, Yuriy Ryzhenkov spoke about how the company contributes to the development of the prosthetics industry in Ukraine and helps defenders return to a full life.
The statistics of war casualties today are quite disappointing. Of the 150 thousand people with limb injuries, about 15% have amputations. With the continuation of hostilities, the number of Ukrainians in need of high-quality rehabilitation will increase, so prosthetics today is one of the most important social challenges.
"Defenders who have lost their limbs should have the opportunity to receive high-quality prosthetics in Ukraine. This requires the efforts of not only doctors, but also those who make relevant decisions at different levels,” said the initiator and main speaker of the forum, medical director of the St. Nicholas Clinic, surgeon Kostiantyn MYLYTSIA.
The CEO of Metinvest Group, Yuriy Ryzhenkov, also joined the discussion of the topic. As part of the Saving Lives humanitarian project, the company has been helping casualties – military personnel and civilians – with prosthetics for almost a year.
Metinvest works to resolve various socially important issues. In particular, the company focuses on creating systemic initiatives in the field of prosthetics. Thus, we provided 10 rehabilitation centres throughout Ukraine with equipment for prosthetics, launched an online portal for doctors and people in need of rehabilitation, and also introduced our own prosthetics programme. Today, 60 military people and civilians who suffered as a result of the war are already taking part in it.
Participants in the prosthetics programme from Metinvest consider it a very important initiative for all defenders of Ukraine who had to undergo amputation. This is an opportunity to live a full life without limitations.
"Rehabilitation is an extremely important process. After its completion, society receives a full-fledged citizen who can independently serve themselves, work, create jobs," says Denys Sylantiev, Candidate of Sciences in Physical Rehabilitation, World and European Swimming Champion. With financial support from Metinvest, he is engaged in the rehabilitation of children with the aid of swimming. The project started last year in Zaporizhzhia and helped participants not only maintain physical health, but recover from the psychological trauma of the war.
FACT
The forum “Brave step: a step towards defenders” was also attended by military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and combatants, people’s deputies of Ukraine, representatives of relevant ministries, government bodies and non-governmental institutions that deal with the issues of prosthetics and rehabilitation of war victims and members of their families.
Based on the results of the issues discussed at the forum, the focus group is developing a mechanism for providing quality services for prosthetics and rehabilitation of war victims on the basis of the St. Nicholas Clinic, which is planned to be scaled up in all regions of the country.
