“Whenever I go to bed I see men who died in my arms”

“When I go to bed, I see it. The comrades I lost. How they died in my arms. This will haunt us for the rest of our lives. We will suffer the consequences for the rest of our lives.” That is what Dmytro says. Britain’s BBC spoke to the man, whom journalists describe as: “Darkness surrounds his eyes – the eyes of a soldier who has only recently returned from the front.”

After 15 months at war, Dmytro is allowed a week’s rest. He was taken to the Kharkiv region, where he meets his wife Tetiana. She says: “He has changed a lot. He has proven he can protect us and our country.”

Dmytro was taken to a rehabilitation center. Actually, this is not about reintegration. It’s about procrastination. He should go to war again. Dmytro is one of around 2,000 soldiers who have been brought here to be treated since the start of the war.

“I don’t want to tell you what I’ve seen”

Pavlo is one of them. He is a drone pilot. He can no longer sleep properly. He can no longer converse with old friends. “I don’t want to tell you what I’ve seen. And I’m no longer interested in what they have to say.

Pavlo says he’s in a “no man’s land” psychologically. When he’s at the front, he wants to go home. And when he gets home, he wants to go back to his comrades.

Serious psychological damage – in Ukrainian soldiers and civilians

Die russian Invasion has caused severe psychological damage to many Ukrainians – soldiers and civilians. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is just as much a part of it as anxiety disorders.

Those in charge of the facility in the Kharkiv region assume that it will take up to 20 years after the end of the war to heal most of them. Treatment is provided for 15 million people, according to Ukraine. The President’s wife has launched a national program.