The Associated Press interviewed several Ukrainian soldiers who suffered horrific injuries, leaving them with permanent disabilities, but they returned to the battlefield.

According to the outlet, “Many Ukrainian brigades have at least one, often several, amputee soldiers still on active duty.” One such soldier, Andrii Rubliuk, lost both his arms in a mine explosion in 2022. 

Ukrainian soldiers who returned to the battlefield after amputation https://t.co/T0XD5BLVs6

— The Associated Press (@AP) February 23, 2025

Disabled soldiers serving on the battlefield come as Kiev needs more soldiers to fill its ranks. Officials in the Joe Biden and Donald Trump administrations urged Ukraine to expand its draft to include 18-24-year-old men. 

The number of casualties in the war is unclear. Trump has repeatedly stated that millions have died in the conflict. Both Moscow and Kiev are reluctant to share information on casualties. Zelensky recently said 46,000 Ukrainians had been killed and 380,000 injured.

In the first year and a half of the conflict, 20,000-50,000 Ukrainians had already suffered amputations. Senator Amy Klobuchar recently said Ukraine was suffering 1,000 casualties per day. If that pace continued through the three-year conflict, that would put the total at over 1 million. 

Under President Biden, Washington used Kiev as a bulwark to weaken Russia, leaving, as the Washington Post’s David Ignatius explained, Ukraine to pay the “butcher’s bill.” Under the previous administration, the White House refused to engage the Kremlin in talks to end the war while also discouraging Ukrainian President Zelenksy from doing so. 

Trump has repeated a notably different message about Ukraine. He has reiterated several times that he wants to “stop the dying” in the war. He has also ordered American diplomats to engage with Russia, with a second round of talks expected later this week.