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Ukraine's psychological scars – 'Soldiers are afraid; that fright will explode'
Iolo ap Dafydd in Ukraine
03:00

There is a battle Ukraine is facing for years to come and will happen far away from the frontlines where thousands of soldiers are currently fighting.

This is according to a medical manager, currently working in a Ukrainian hospital.

"These guys in the trenches – who are yesterday's farmers, engineers, drivers and so on – they are afraid. And that fright will explode.

"We will have suicides, we will have family murders, we will have crazy stuff. It's a hyper big problem and I hope our government understands it because in every interview, I say, we need to start physiological and social work with soldiers right now."

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The longer the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues, the higher the numbers of casualties. The United Nations figures say more than 8,000 have been killed, and more than 13,000 Ukrainians have been injured. 

The actual numbers are expected to be much higher. 

This hospital is testament to the high number of casualties. Wards with silent soldiers, receiving treatment for a variety of injuries, such as facial, leg and shoulder wounds. 

One patient, Alexsander, is being helped after a mortar shell blew up in his face. He had been fighting in Bakhmut since last September. 

Soldiers face huge pyschological challenges, says a Ukrainian medical manager. /Oleksandr Ratushniak/Reuters
Soldiers face huge pyschological challenges, says a Ukrainian medical manager. /Oleksandr Ratushniak/Reuters

Soldiers face huge pyschological challenges, says a Ukrainian medical manager. /Oleksandr Ratushniak/Reuters

In another ward, Mihail from Odesa is also a professional soldier and he is at the hospital after being shot while firing a machine gun. 

Alexsander and Mihail are still adapting to their circumstances, but both are determined to recover and return to the frontline.

It is clear this conflict is creating thousands of victims suffering from physical and psychological damage.

The medical manager of a Ukrainian army brigade, also an army volunteer, believes the trauma and damage inside the head of their soldiers poses a massive danger to the country.

Ukraine's general army staff claims 150,000 Russians have been killed in the last year. But the government won't say how many of their own soldiers and civilians have died.

Ukraine's cemeteries offer some idea of the sacrifices that have been made. These sacrifices continue to be made. 

 

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