In Ukraine, the eastern front still at the heart of intense fighting. Russian forces have intensified their attacks in the direction of the town of Toretsk in the Donetsk region, an area that had been relatively untouched in recent months. Another area where the Russian army is continuing its offensive, the Kharkiv region in the northeast. It attempts to break through the Russian lines in the Koupiansk sector. With an understaffed Ukrainian army, the burden on Ukrainian fighters is heavy. To help them cope with the stress they are experiencing, psychological support units have been set up.
2 mins
With our special correspondents in Koupiansk, Anastasia Becchio and Boris Vicith
In the kitchen of a village house, Olha, officer of the psychological support group, in military uniform, makeup and pink manicure, leads a session with Maksim, who returned last night from the front, a few kilometers away.
“ Choose three cards at random and turn them over “, she says. “ Maksim, I ask you to place these cards in the following order: the first should symbolize your state before the war, the second, the present and the third, after the war »
The young artilleryman, a little awkward, with an adolescent face, has drawn features. Shy, he lends himself to exercise. Little by little, the words come out. “ Since we don’t have backup, we don’t have enough rotations. It’s hard, we stay in our positions longer than we’d like “, he confides.
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“ It’s hard what they’re going through »
In the next room, seated on a sofa, under a large wedding photo of the owners of the place, who have gone far from here, but with whom he maintains contact, Sergeant Major Oleksandr, waits for the end of the session. He is responsible for the logistics of the house which welcomes the fighters for 48 hours of rest.
“ I think these sessions are a good way to support the soldiers “, explains Sergeant Major Oleksandr. “ The psychologist tries to bring out everything they keep inside them. It’s hard what they’re going through. They are constantly under artillery fire. They arrive exhausted, dirty. They take a shower and go to bed immediately. »
In front of the house, under an awning, military boots are drying on a washing line. In two days, they will find the mud of the trenches a few kilometers away.
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