The battle Russia has not yet fought: The mental health of its war veterans

The battle Russia has not yet fought: The mental health of its war veterans

Whatever the outcome of the war in Ukraine, hundreds of thousands of Russian combatants will be plagued by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for the rest of their lives. Depression, suicide, alcoholism, and violence are some of the consequences of the same illness that marked the United States after the Vietnam War. Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anna Tsivileva has said that PTSD already affects 20% of Russian veterans returning from the front in Ukraine. Clinical studies say that the number of people who suffer from this disorder across all conflicts is between 25% and 50%. Unlike the United States, Russia does not yet have an extensive support network to help former soldiers throughout their lives, despite the fact that the invasion of Ukraine is now the country’s deadliest conflict since World War II.

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