Since February 2022, we have delivered over €10 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine’s defenders and civilians affected by Russian aggression. In September 2024, we turned to a group still facing an urgent gap in support: veterans and civilians who lost their limbs.
We partnered with Aether Biomedical, a Poznań-based company producing the Zeus – the world’s most advanced prosthetic hand, now in its second generation.
The aim of our joint campaign was straightforward: ensure that every amputee in Ukraine, military and civilian, can receive a Zeus free of charge, making it the first bionic hand fully reimbursed by the Ukrainian state.
When we began, Ukraine fitted roughly 120 bionic hands per year, around 80 of them being Aether’s first-generation Zeus. These fittings were carried out by only two privately funded clinics: Superhumans and Unbroken.
Our goal was to make the Zeus available nationwide and reimbursable for any veteran who needed it. It was – and still is – the first and only bionic hand that met the reimbursement criteria of the Ministry of Social Policy under regulation 321.
After two field missions – meeting more than a dozen hospitals and clinics from Lviv to Kharkiv, and engaging with local and national authorities – Aether signed multiple agreements and got to work. As a result, the Zeus became available to patients across the country without restrictions or waiting lists, completely free of charge.
As of November 2025, one year into the project:
- 170 hands have been fitted through non-profit prosthetic centres (90 this year),
- 30 hands are being fitted at the public Halychyna Hospital in Lviv by December, all reimbursed under regulation 321,
- more than 100 additional fittings at Halychyna are planned for 2026, also fully reimbursed,
- over 10 commercial prosthetic centres are cooperating with us, having fitted 33 patients to date, with a total of around 60 expected by year’s end (all reimbursed under regulation 321).
Following the success of our cooperation with Aether Biomedical, we are now in discussions with other European manufacturers of advanced and affordable prosthetic technologies to expand access further, ensuring that high-function, life-changing bionic limbs become a real nationwide alternative to mechanical, single-action or purely cosmetic options. Special thanks go to Catella Investment, which kindly supports our work in this area.
Read also:
- Summary of the second mission of ODF and Aether Biomedical to Ukraine (December 13, 2024)
- Prosthetics for Ukrainian veterans. New project by ODF and Aether Biomedical (October 25, 2024)
In the media:
- Kurier Galicyjski: “Bionic prosthetics for Ukrainian veterans” – article and video reportage (19.10.2024)
