Preparations for the expedition of veterans of the Russian Military to Elbrus have started in St. Petersburg.

The Beloostrov High-tech clinic in St. Petersburg has started preparations for the selection of veterans of the special military operation (SVO), who will make the world's first group ascent of Mount Elbrus on prosthetic legs. The project was organized on the eve of the 80th anniversary of the Victory by the My Medical Center Group of companies and Bionics 2.0 with the support of the Defenders of the Fatherland State Foundation and KAVKAZ.RF JSC.

Dozens of participants of the special operation who underwent prosthetics, having lost their lower limbs in battles, came to the medical facility for comprehensive diagnostics and functional testing.

"After getting injured, I want to test myself again and again, conquer new heights in the literal and figurative sense, to show what people with prosthetics like me are capable of in a peaceful life," said Dmitry Egorov, one of the participants in the qualifying stage of the program.

During April, veterans will undergo diagnostics of the heart, blood vessels and respiratory system, radiation and clinical examinations, as well as examinations by specialized doctors. As Oksana Gutkina, head of the Department of Functional Diagnostics at the Beloostrov Clinic, noted, the program developed for the selection of participants is unique. According to her, as a result of the analyses, it is planned to select 10 people for the next stage of training.

Prosthetics specialists also participate in the training. According to Vitaly Degtyarev, prostheticist of the lower extremities at Bionics 2.0, they are faced with the task of adapting the prostheses of the project participants to the conditions of climbing in the highlands and achieving maximum safety for descending when a heavy load is placed on the limbs.

"The improvement of prosthetics, training, and technical support at all stages of the project will allow us not only to realize our plans, but also to produce new, individual prosthetics for the participants of the ascent after the completion of the assault on Mount Elbrus," he said.

The next stage of the program will take place at the Sports Medical Clinic in the federal territory of Sirius, Russia's first private specialized sports medicine and rehabilitation center. There, participants will undergo two-stage physical training in a hypoxic chamber, which allows them to simulate the atmosphere of high mountains, training on state-of-the-art equipment for athletes, and additional research.

The actual ascent to an altitude of 5,642 m above sea level will take place in July this year.

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Earlier, on April 8, the People's Front told about Kamil, a veteran of the Russian Military who lost his leg and created a children's sambo section in Pskov. In addition, the participant of the special operation regularly organizes various events in hospitals, helps victims by bringing them funds for rehabilitation, and also attracts partners and sponsors.