1 00:00:02,033 --> 00:00:05,000 JOHN YANG: The war in Ukraine has reached a grim milestone as many as 120,000 Ukrainians 2 00:00:07,566 --> 00:00:11,033 have been wounded and close to 70,000 killed. As the conflict rages on, a critical need as emerge 3 00:00:13,033 --> 00:00:17,233 for some of those wounded on the front lines access to artificial limbs. Nick Schifrin reports 4 00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:23,333 on a Ukrainian nonprofit that helps survivors move forward after a life changing injuries. 5 00:00:25,333 --> 00:00:28,800 NICK SCHIFRIN: It is the largest land war the world has seen in 80 years and Russia has built 6 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:34,700 an 800 mile long defensive line that includes massive fields of mines, some 20,000 to 50,000 7 00:00:37,700 --> 00:00:42,666 Ukrainians have been seriously hurt and forced to amputate one or more limbs since the Russian 8 00:00:44,733 --> 00:00:48,066 full scale invasion last February. That numbers surpasses levels not seen since World War I. 9 00:00:50,500 --> 00:00:54,133 The Ukrainian group superhuman center is trying to answer the massive need for medical attention, 10 00:00:56,100 --> 00:00:59,466 offering reconstructive surgery and physical and psychological support to those who have 11 00:00:59,466 --> 00:01:03,900 lost limbs. Andrey Stavnitser is the co-founder and joins me now. 12 00:01:03,900 --> 00:01:08,900 How massive is this challenge and has it increased in the last few 13 00:01:10,900 --> 00:01:13,900 months as Ukraine has gone on the counter offensive through those Russian minefields. 14 00:01:13,900 --> 00:01:15,900 ANDREY STAVNITSER, Co-Founder Superhumans Center: So just for your understanding, 15 00:01:15,900 --> 00:01:20,533 we have approximately the size of Austria, land plot size of Austria is filled with 16 00:01:23,100 --> 00:01:28,100 mines right now in Ukraine. So even if the war stops today, it's going to take many months, 17 00:01:30,166 --> 00:01:34,133 if not years to demine it. And we see civilians and military personnel stepping on those mines 18 00:01:36,066 --> 00:01:41,033 every day and about 30,000, more than 30,000 people are waiting for prosthetics right now, 19 00:01:43,633 --> 00:01:47,166 that means they have lost at least one limb. So the situation is getting really bad day after day. 20 00:01:49,166 --> 00:01:53,933 NICK SCHIFRIN: And you mentioned it's both civilians and soldiers for those soldiers. 21 00:01:55,933 --> 00:01:59,666 Are you seeing a dramatic increase because of the nature of how the Russian defenses 22 00:01:59,666 --> 00:02:02,700 have been built? And the fact that Ukrainian soldiers simply have to go 23 00:02:02,700 --> 00:02:06,733 through the minefield in order to get to the Russian forces that have occupied your land? 24 00:02:06,733 --> 00:02:10,433 ANDREY STAVNITSER: Exactly. So we are in the middle of the counter offensive. And 25 00:02:10,433 --> 00:02:15,433 we're losing a lot of great guys. And we're really, really waiting for the F-60s to back 26 00:02:17,733 --> 00:02:22,233 us up from the skies, and that hopefully is going to change the course of the war. 27 00:02:22,233 --> 00:02:27,233 But meanwhile, what Superhumans is doing is we're trying to save as many victims of war so we don't 28 00:02:29,166 --> 00:02:34,100 distinguish between civilians or military or kids does matter for us. And we try to 29 00:02:36,066 --> 00:02:40,200 provide them with the best prosthetic solutions there are. We do it totally free of charge, 30 00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:45,200 thanks to our donors from all over the world, and especially from the US. 31 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:50,433 NICK SCHIFRIN: Russia has systematically targeted the Ukrainian health care system. 32 00:02:50,433 --> 00:02:55,400 The organization Physicians for Human Rights now says 1,000 facilities have 33 00:02:57,433 --> 00:03:00,500 been targeted. What are the barriers? What are the challenges within the system already, 34 00:03:00,500 --> 00:03:03,633 that these victims who are losing limbs face. 35 00:03:03,633 --> 00:03:07,833 ANDREY STAVNITSER: So the biggest issue was to create the ecosystem 36 00:03:07,833 --> 00:03:12,833 to bring the expertise into the country, the expertise of, you know, prosthetics, 37 00:03:15,100 --> 00:03:18,133 and it's not only prosthetics, it's also, you know, psychological, physiological rehabilitation, 38 00:03:20,133 --> 00:03:23,466 its production of prosthetics, installation and maintenance has to come as a package because, 39 00:03:25,300 --> 00:03:29,200 you know, these people they need complex, holistic solutions. 40 00:03:29,200 --> 00:03:34,200 Our main goal is to put them back to work to make them able to perform in 41 00:03:36,166 --> 00:03:39,466 the office or whatever they would be doing before. For example, we have a patient who 42 00:03:39,466 --> 00:03:44,466 is ice skating instructor. So, we have produced and ice skating prosthetics so 43 00:03:46,366 --> 00:03:48,633 that he can go back to training kids, you know, we're doing figure skating. 44 00:03:48,633 --> 00:03:52,500 NICK SCHIFRIN: Does that mean that every person who comes to you at least needs a 45 00:03:52,500 --> 00:03:55,066 tailor made prosthetic and how difficult is that? 46 00:03:55,066 --> 00:03:59,533 ANDREY STAVNITSER: It is quite difficult, your prosthesis is point of contact for the rest of 47 00:03:59,533 --> 00:04:03,400 your life. Because whenever you lose a little bit of weight, or you gain a bit of weight, 48 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:08,400 or something happened to you, you have to come and adjust your prosthetic slightly starts causing 49 00:04:10,966 --> 00:04:13,666 trouble, it starts causing pain. So you have to make sure that it's always fitting you in the best 50 00:04:13,666 --> 00:04:18,566 possible way. So you can be verticalized and you can do sports, and you can be active, et cetera. 51 00:04:18,566 --> 00:04:23,200 So it's a complex thing, and Ukraine never had it. So we had to bring all 52 00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:26,933 this expertise. We had to teach our doctors abroad and bring them 53 00:04:26,933 --> 00:04:31,933 in where to find us, U.K., German doctors, bring them into Ukraine so that they 54 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:37,233 could train as many doctors in Ukraine who could then go and work across the country. 55 00:04:37,233 --> 00:04:41,266 NICK SCHIFRIN: You currently have one facility in Lviv, the largest city in 56 00:04:41,266 --> 00:04:45,900 western Ukraine. You're hoping to open five facilities in the next two years. 57 00:04:47,966 --> 00:04:51,833 Are you concerned that the need for what you do is only going to increase as this war continues? 58 00:04:53,400 --> 00:04:56,633 ANDREY STAVNITSER: We're trying to be ready for that. And you know, 59 00:04:56,633 --> 00:05:01,633 I was -- before the war started I thought million dollars is a lot of money but right 60 00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:06,100 now I can see that a million dollars is only 50 patients for Superhumans. 61 00:05:06,100 --> 00:05:11,100 Our biggest bottleneck right now is that we need more financing in order to bring help 62 00:05:12,900 --> 00:05:17,000 to more people. We're obviously blessed with donors. But this is not enough. The 63 00:05:19,033 --> 00:05:22,200 amount of people that need help is much bigger than any of our current donors. 64 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:27,633 NICK SCHIFRIN: Andrey Stavnitser is the co-founder of the Superhuman Center. Thank you very much. 65 00:05:27,633 --> 00:05:28,433 ANDREY STAVNITSER: Thank you, Nick.