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Trauma in the Russian invasion of Ukraine

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Trauma has affected military veterans and civilian populations exposed to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Background

In February 2022, Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. This conflict is characterized by a situation of high-intensity warfare,[1][2] which was unprecedented in Europe since the Yugoslav Wars and, more generally, since World War II, which had seen high-intensity conflicts give way to asymmetrical wars.[3] Furthermore, both the Russian Armed Forces and the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been involved in war crimes and crimes against humanity during this war.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

From the second half of 2022, mercenary forces serving the Russian army, such as the Wagner Group, began recruiting volunteers from Russian prisons in exchange for their freedom at the end of a few months of service.[11][12] The prisoners who accepted these conditions were mostly individuals serving heavy sentences, thus willing to risk their lives for their freedom.[13]

Other mental disorders were observed since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, including notably the Ulysses syndrome, a disorder mostly linked with refugees.[14]

Syndrome

Since 2014, and the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian war, the Ukrainian syndrome has been observed. In December 2014, Ukrainian researchers including Mykhailo Matiash conducted a study on the matter and arrived at the conclusion that the Ukrainian syndrome is partly characterized by a "drastic" increase in the number of people suffering from PTSD, among other things.[15] Time reported in 2014 that this was one of the names given by doctors to the specific psychiatric afflictions in Ukraine at the time.[16] The syndrome was better studied since 2014, with other scholars and works being published.[17][18][19] The syndrome was compared to the Afghan syndrome or the Vietnam syndrome :[20]

Post-traumatic syndrome, as the experience of soldiers' participation in military conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Chechnya, and Israel shows, has negative manifestations in the psyche of a warrior throughout his life, many years after the end of the war. It is also called the Afghan, Vietnamese or Chechen syndrome, depending on the name of the war the servicemen took part.Now we are talking about the Ukrainian military. The war in Ukraine gives another name to the Afghan syndrome – the Ukrainian syndrome.

The Ukrainian syndrome has been described as an adaptation to the realities of war, particularly within the youth[17] and more broadly within the Ukrainian population. Researchers must understand this psychological adaptation in order to propose avenues for rehabilitation.[21] In 2023, V. Ludov was part of a panel of psychologists invited to discuss the issue for the Institute of European, Russian and Eurasian Studies of the George Washington University.[22]

During the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, as soldiers and mercenaries returned to Russia, increasingly from early 2023, crime rates in the areas where they come back witness a drastic increase.[23] Drug consumption, rapes, and murders committed by former soldiers are on the rise in Russia.[13][23] This trend is likely explained by what is referred to as the "Ukrainian syndrome," a collection of psychological, psychiatric, or pathological disorders developed by soldiers, primarily Russians, during the invasion of Ukraine.[24][25]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Le retour de la haute intensité en Ukraine : quels enseignements pour les forces terrestres ?". www.ifri.org. Archived from the original on 2023-11-05. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
  2. ^ CZDEFENCE. "Konvenční válka vysoké intenzity se bude i nadále objevovat, byť s určitými obměnami". www.czdefence.cz (in Czech). Archived from the original on 2023-11-05. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
  3. ^ "Retour des guerres de haute intensité ?". www.vie-publique.fr. Archived from the original on 2023-11-05. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
  4. ^ Bogner, Matilda. "Situation in Ukraine. Statement delivered by the Head of Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine on the situation in Ukraine". Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Archived from the original on 2022-03-25. Retrieved 2023-06-16..
  5. ^ Myroniuk, Anna (8 March 2022). "Russian soldiers murder volunteers helping starving animals near Kyiv". The Kyiv Independent. Archived from the original on 9 March 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2022..
  6. ^ Khan, Karim Ahmad (2022-03-02). "Statement of ICC Prosecutor, Karim A.A. Khan QC, on the Situation in Ukraine: Receipt of Referrals from 39 States Parties and the Opening of an Investigation". ICC. Archived from the original on 2022-03-04. Retrieved 2022-03-04..
  7. ^ "Russian military commits indiscriminate attacks during the invasion of Ukraine". Amnesty International. 25 February 2022. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022..
  8. ^ HRMMU Update on the human rights situation in Ukraine, 24 February – 26 March 2022 (PDF) (Report). UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. 28 March 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2023..
  9. ^ Lee, Joyce Sohyun; Swaine, Jon; Berger, Miriam (2022-03-30). "Kyiv will investigate video that appears to show Ukrainian forces shooting Russian prisoners of war". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 2022-04-03. Retrieved 2023-10-27.
  10. ^ Shull, Abbie. "Video appears to show Ukrainian soldiers executing Russian soldier captured in an ambush outside Kyiv, New York Times reports". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 2022-11-04. Retrieved 2023-10-27.
  11. ^ "Guerre en Ukraine : le groupe Wagner recrute des prisonniers russes en promesse d'une remise de peine". Franceinfo (in French). 2022-07-11. Archived from the original on 2023-10-01. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
  12. ^ "La Maison Blanche alerte face à la montée en puissance du groupe Wagner en Ukraine". France 24 (in French). 2022-12-23. Archived from the original on 2023-04-05. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
  13. ^ a b Roth, Andrew; Sauer, Pjotr (2023-02-10). "'He's really dangerous': fear as Wagner convict soldiers return from Ukraine". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2023-07-21. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
  14. ^ Salinas, Nieves (2022-03-05). "La guerra en Ucrania reaviva el Síndrome de Ulises, el duelo extremo de los refugiados". elperiodicodeespana (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-10-29.
  15. ^ Matyash MN, Khudenko LI. "Features of PTSD In the Participants of the Anti-Terrorist Operation--Ukrainian Syndrome" Archived 2023-10-29 at the Wayback Machine. Likars'ka Sprava. 2014 Dec(12):105-112. PMID: 26638477.
  16. ^ "Ukraine Trauma Counselors Battle 'Info-Intoxication'". Time. 2014-08-04. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
  17. ^ a b Tolstoukhov, Anatolii; Matiash, Mykhailo; Subbota, Spartak; Lunov, Vitalii (2023-01-10). Ukrainian syndrome. Behavioral and functional changes in Ukrainian youth under the conditions of a 2022-Full-scale Russian invasion (Report). Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology. doi:10.1101/2023.01.08.23284307. Archived from the original on 2024-05-18. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
  18. ^ Stebliuk, Vsevolod; Gan, Roman; Pronoza, Kateryna (2016-04-28). "Particularities Of Physical And Mental Injuries For Ukrainian-Russian War Victims". doi:10.5281/ZENODO.50626. S2CID 147728889. Archived from the original on 2020-02-27. Retrieved 2023-10-29. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  19. ^ М.n, Matyash; L.i, Khudenko (2016-06-23). "Social stress disorders in the structure of ukrainian syndrome | Український Медичний Часопис". Social stress disorders in the structure of ukrainian syndrome | Український Медичний Часопис (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 2023-10-29. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
  20. ^ Rybinska, Yuliia; Sarnovska, Nataliia; Pechenizka, Svitlana; Predko, Viktoria; Loshenko, Oleksandra (2022). "Professional Emotional Support of Soldiers during and after War". Resmilitaris. 12 (6): 791–806. Archived from the original on 2023-10-29. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
  21. ^ Maksymenko, Serhii Dmytrovich; Derkach, Lidiya Mykolayevna (2023-06-25). "Understanding Modern Cognitive War in the Global Dimension, ITS Genesis in the Ukrainian Context". Obrana a Strategie (Defence and Strategy). 23 (1): 126–148. doi:10.3849/1802-7199.23.2023.01.126-148. S2CID 259660907. Archived from the original on 2023-10-29. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
  22. ^ "How to Survive a Russian Invasion: Ukrainian Psychologists Discuss Trauma and Resilience Amidst War". The Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies (IERES). Archived from the original on 2023-10-31. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
  23. ^ a b "Meurtres, troubles psychologiques, drogues... Le difficile retour des soldats russes d'Ukraine". L'Express (in French). 2023-06-16. Archived from the original on 2023-11-28. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
  24. ^ "Vu de Kiev. La Russie souffrira-t-elle du "syndrome ukrainien" ?". Courrier international (in French). 2022-03-11. Archived from the original on 2023-11-09. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
  25. ^ Gogo, Paul (2023-06-16). "Le "syndrome ukrainien" frappe la société russe : les faits divers se multiplient". La Libre.be (in French). Archived from the original on 2023-06-16. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
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