LVIV, Ukraine — The Superhuman Center is full of war amputees learning to walk with artificial limbs or smoking cigarettes clutched in prosthetic fingers.

Yet this philanthropic-supported hospital for wounded Ukrainians isn’t antiseptically depressing, as hospitals tend to be. Perhaps it is because of the admiration Ukrainians feel for these veterans, which leads them to wear their stumps with pride and plan a return to the front line with artificial arms and legs.

“I don’t see disabled people,” Oleksandra Kabanova said as she sat waiting for her husband, Oleh Spodin, to complete a physiotherapy session. “I see superheroes.”

He enthusiastically shared the story of how Spodin lost his leg: he volunteered to go out and rescue an injured comrade. “He’s very sexy without a leg,” he added, beaming.