Psychological Toll of War
Ukraine War Inflicts Deep Psychological Trauma and Separates Families Across the Country
Anonymous
Russia’s war is taking a deepening psychological toll on Ukrainians, from civilians and soldiers experiencing persistent fear of drones to families separated by military service and escalating attacks. Clinicians describe drone-related anxiety marked by hypervigilance and a sense of helplessness, even among people who have not been physically injured. One artillery soldier’s brief call with his young daughter was interrupted by nearby explosions, while his wife and children face air-raid alerts and attacks near their home; his rare visits are often cut short when he is called back to the front. Together, the accounts show how the threat of aerial attacks and the demands of combat reach well beyond the battlefield and shape everyday family life.
Key Points
1
Military psychiatrist Serhiy Andriychenko began studying the mental-health effects of persistent drone surveillance in 2023, working with Ukrainian and American researchers; Ukrainian Armed Forces Sergeant Oleksandr Dushakov was among the first patients documented with drone-related psychological trauma.
2
Yevheniy Borysenko asked his wife to take the children to their grandmother’s village when Shahed drones headed toward Boryspil, saying it was quieter there and that children were frightened at night. His wife tells the children explosions are thunder; their two-year-old imitates them by saying “bang-bang.”
3
The threat around the Borysenko family’s home has intensified: an apartment block nearby was badly damaged in an attack, and the article describes jet-powered Russian drones and ballistic missiles as raising the threat to Ukrainian civilians to its highest level since the war’s early stages.
4
A Ukrainian family who fled to Exeter described a separate source of fear after receiving handwritten demands to move their car, followed by two slashed tyres; they also said their Ukrainian flag had been pulled down, while a nearby English flag was left untouched.
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