Oleg welcomes us to his office in this dispensary in Kharkiv, in western Ukraine, where, for six months, the bombardments have been incessant. Psychiatrist and addictologist, he practices in this specialized center, where a hundred patients are treated for addiction problems. “The most common is alcohol addiction. Sometimes we treat cannabinoid and opioid addiction. Many suffer from post-traumatic stress. They were very scared on the battlefield“, he lists, in a calm voice.
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This Ukrainian doctor, who has received training from specialists from Israel, the United States and Great Britain, sees more and more soldiers returning from the front in shock. Among these fighters closely followed for several weeks, one caught the attention of the specialist: “He feels guilty, because many of his friends died at the front. At first, we couldn’t establish visual communication… Now he feels much better“, he slips in English.
This soldier is Bodgan, a young man of 24, with intense blue eyes. He is a non-commissioned officer in the Ukrainian army. “I have sleep issues, mood issues, nightmares and panic attacks“, he confides.
War in Ukraine: the nightmares of soldiers returning from the front at the microphone of Valérie Crova and Arthur Gerbault
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Bodgan managed to save two soldiers from his unit, but not the others. That’s what haunts him at night: “The worst nightmare is when I dream that my friends need help, because they are injured, and I cannot save them. For me, it’s the worst nightmare…”
Thanks to medical treatment, combined with psychotherapy, her nightmares gradually fade away. And Bodgan already imagines going back to the front: “I want to go back, and keep fighting as soon as my body is better, and I’m able to perform my tasks. I will go back, that’s for sure.“Oleg, the doctor following him, tells us aside that he is not ready yet, and that it will still take time for the young soldier to fully recover.