The Armed Forces of Ukraine cares. A retreat center in Kharkiv Oblast is proof that the AFU is leading the way in military wellness
Humanity is the defining quality of war. Soldiers on the righteous side of the battlefield reach deep into an internal reservoir filled from a potent well of human qualities: strength, fragility, power, kindness, and love. Too often, wounds from fighting, emotional and physical, create scar tissue around the hearts, minds, and souls of those just warriors. In most cases, that trauma isn’t discovered until after a service person's deployment finishes, however, the Armed Forces of Ukraine is attempting to identify its troops' unseen maladies well before they leave combat. By diagnosing those at long-term risk and intervening in a timely manner, the AFU has managed to create a more vibrant, and healthier military.
One of the architects of this approach is Colonel Oleksandr Vasylkovskyi, who is going into his 25th year of service and has been in frontline positions since the beginning of Russia’s war against Ukraine in 2014. In a secluded location in Kharkiv Oblast, Colonel Vasylkovskyi has crafted an oasis safe from the roaring sounds of artillery, and the scope of a sniper’s rifle. Nestled among tall trees and a serene lake, a bucolic retreat welcomes 100 soldiers a week who visit for seven-day stays.
Once at the sprawling campus, members of the military selected by their commanders engage in rehabilitative sporting exercises and group therapy sessions. In between community gatherings, the soldiers, regardless of rank, have access to spa-like amenities including aroma therapy rooms, and salt enclaves. Meals are prepared to order, and families have the ability to stay on-site with their loved ones.
With a coterie of physical therapists and psychologists located at the premises and focused on the needs of the AFU participants, the goal of making certain each Ukrainian warrior is fit to return to the front is an attainable goal. Furthermore, every individual who completes the stay leaves better equipped to be cognizant of the creeping physical and mental stressors which can lead to long-term challenges upon their return to civilian life.
Thus far over 2700 fighters have taken advantage of the opportunity. The cost to take part is 140 Euros (20 Euros per day) an amount fully subsidized by private donors and organizations. Two of the major supporters of this initiative are a Kharkiv branch of the Rotary Club, and the Ukrainian charity organization, “Invincibility of the Country.”
If you would like to help support this initiative you can donate directly to either of the organizations above. The link is also here to the Ukrainian NGO.
Read more about the retreat center below:
Traumatic stress, an invisible wound - The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/03/10/ukraine-war-post-traumatic-stress/
Ukraine's troops get help for PTSD – CBS News
Eine Woche Urlaub von der Front (A week's vacation from the front) - Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers are suffering with PTSD – The Economist
https://www.economist.com/europe/2023/02/09/thousands-of-ukrainian-soldiers are-suffering-with-ptsd
La trinchera de la salud mental (The Mental Health Trench) - EL MUNDO
https://www.elmundo.es/internacional/2023/02/26/63fb85affdddffd0b58b45c5.html
this is brilliant. I've spoken with various veterans I've known, and I reckon this is a serious breakthrough in the problem of trauma and PTSD. As I understand it, everyone comes out of conflict changed, and coping mechanisms of the human mind need help, especially with such brutal enemies. Even my paternal grandfather, who was a consciencious objector and volunteered to serve on minesweepers rather than take life found some of what he saw in the war at sea sufficiently harrowing to stop in the middle of a funny story and gaze into the distance with that thousand-yard stare. They picked up a few survivors from ships that had struck mines or had been torpedoed.
I've studied CPTSD and PTSD, that being said, people that suffer with CPTSD, are people that have experienced more than one Trauma for a period of a year or longer or soldiers that have been in battle field environments for a period of a year or longer...CPTSD is known as an invisible hurricane of Trauma which you have no control over, unless your around someone that's wise or someone than has experienced CPTSD themselves, what the Ukrainian government is proof how much they value their soldiers...beautiful 🫡