Russia’s War in Ukraine Fuels Prosthetics Boom With Links to Putin’s Inner Circle

Russia’s war in Ukraine has fueled a multimillion-euro boom in the prosthetics industry, with companies linked to Vladimir Putin’s inner circle and regional officials benefiting from soaring demand among wounded soldiers, an investigation by TVP World’s sister channel Vot Tak has found. At least 106 prosthetics companies have been established in Russia since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022, generating combined revenue of nearly 18.5 billion rubles (€202 million) in 2025, according to Vot Tak’s investigation. JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. The boom has been fueled by a sharp increase in government spending on assistive devices for people with disabilities, including prosthetic limbs. Russia allocated 33.3 billion rubles (€363 million) for such devices in 2021, compared with 98 billion rubles (€1.07 billion) earmarked for 2026. “The market has grown by at least 25% a year over the past two years. Most of the growth now comes from wounded soldiers... who want hi-tech products,” Ivan Khudyakov, general director of prosthetics manufacturer Steplife, said in late 2024. Putin connections Among those who have entered the industry is Sergei Fokin, a distant relative of Yuri Kovalchuk, one of Putin’s closest confidants. Fokin became the principal owner of St. Petersburg-based prosthetics manufacturer Bionika 2.0 in August 2023. “Our work takes account of the specific requirements of prosthetic fitting following mine and blast injuries. Our patients return to active civilian life or resume military service,” the company’s website states. Other Topics of Interest Kushner Unveils Five-Point European Security Plan Ahead of Ukraine-Russia Peace Talks Washington seeks permanent security consultations and military transparency while insisting no country can veto another nation’s alliances. Bionika 2.0’s revenue more than tripled from 252 million rubles (€2.75 million) in 2024 to 830 million rubles (€9.06 million) in 2025, with net profit reaching 82 million rubles (€895,000), Vot Tak found. Public money and political ties One of its charitable partners is the Orion foundation, whose board of trustees is chaired by Ksenia Shoigu, daughter of former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. Vot Tak also uncovered an extensive network of prosthetics companies in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region with close ties to local government officials. The war has brought substantial gains to established manufacturers too. Motorica, which specializes in prosthetic hands and arms, saw its revenue surge from 308 million rubles (€3.36 million) in 2021 to 4.2 billion rubles (€45.8 million) in 2025, an almost fourteenfold. TVP World is Poland's first English-language channel where you can find our guest interviews, world news from the Polish perspective and the latest news from the CEE region.