Many Ukrainian servicemen admit to being psychologically traumatized after nearly a year and a half of war with Russia broke out without end.
Speaking to the New York Times on August 15, Sergeant Vladyslav Ruziev, 28, admitted he was one of the Ukrainian soldiers who suffered psychological trauma after the war with Russia broke out from February 2022 to present.
Ruziev said that he often had nightmares about his unit facing constant attacks by the Russian army in the cold winter with many soldiers seriously injured, even losing legs and arms. .
According to Ruziev, there were times when the fighting was so intense that Ukraine recorded a huge number of casualties.
“Sometimes the ground is so dense with injured people that evacuation vehicles accidentally roll over them during the chaos,” he said.
According to observers, both Russia and Ukraine have recorded a large number of casualties after 18 months of the “cost of people and money” war. Since June until now, when Ukraine launched a large-scale counter-offensive, Kiev has suffered great damage when trying to penetrate the fortified line tens of kilometers deep of Russia.
According to the Washington Post , slow progress on the battlefield and large casualties are said to be affecting the fighting spirit of the Ukrainian side.
Ruslan Proektor, a 52-year-old Ukrainian soldier who lost his leg to a landmine, told the US news agency that he would not volunteer to fight in the future.
“They’re putting everyone on the front lines without proper preparation. I don’t want to be in a unit of unmotivated people anymore,” he said.
According to the Washington Post , the physical and mental damage of the Ukrainian side is increasing as Russia deploys a large number of minefields to block the advance of Kiev, leaving more and more service members seriously injured.
Tanisha Fazal, a professor of medical care in war at the University of Minnesota (USA), said that the psychological trauma, the problem of mine disposal, and casualties will have a long-term impact on Ukraine. .
This expert said that, in the end of the war scenario, not only veterans and wounded soldiers but also Ukrainian civilians will have to face both physical and mental injuries.
The New York Times reported that Ukraine can no longer afford to treat the trauma of all soldiers on the front lines.
The country has a number of treatment centers that focus on both physical and mental trauma for military personnel, but the increasingly intense fighting has caused an increasing number of people affected.
A 35-year-old soldier told the American newspaper that most of his comrades in his unit were killed in the fighting. He is grappling with hauntings from his past memories.
One night, he suddenly woke up and attacked his roommate thinking it was the other side of the front line. “Sometimes I burst into tears. When I fall asleep, I can picture everything again. I remember all the faces of my comrades who died,” he said.
