The Kremlin is bragging that Russia has become a worldwide leader of prosthetic limbs, but only as a result of so many of its soldiers returning severely injured from the frontlines of Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine invasion.

“We’re probably a leader in this field now,” boasted Deputy Defense Minister Anna Tsivilyova at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia on Thursday.

Tsivilyova, who is the daughter of Putin’s first cousin, said injured troops requiring amputations had become a “driver” of Russian innovation — an apparent attempt to find a silver lining to the deadly onslaught that first erupted in 2022.

“Those taking part in the ‘special military operation’ have enabled us to reach a top level, placing us ahead of many countries,” she said, using the Kremlin’s euphemism for the war in Ukraine, according to the Moscow Times.

Russian government data shows the country manufactured 60,000 more prosthetic limbs in 2024 compared to 2021 — shortly before the war started – a staggering 65% increase.

“Progress in medicine is a good thing, but it is still desirable to achieve it in the 21st century in less barbaric ways,” slammed Kremlin critic and political analyst Fyodor Krasheninnikov on Telegram in reaction to the announcement.

The Kremlin keeps the number of soldiers killed and wounded top secret and has rarely disclosed any information about casualties or injuries.

But a recent study by the US-based Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated that nearly 1 million Russian troops had been killed or wounded since the start of the conflict.