When Bohdan Bunchak returned from eastern Ukraine in February 2024 after half a year of active service, he could not face going back to his previous life as a visual artist. The 29-year-old had been discharged from military service due to a spinal injury and, worse, his traumatic experience on the front lines had left him with suicidal thoughts.
Today, Bunchak is in better shape. ‘What helped me find new purpose was support of a close circle of friends,’ he said. ‘I wouldn’t have managed without them. But many veterans aren’t as lucky as me. They don’t have a close support circle to help them manage.’
As many military veterans in Ukraine have found, returning from the front to civilian life can be difficult. Dismissal from military service is a complicated process that often increases anxiety. Those who struggle often turn to substance abuse, domestic violence or even suicide. But several initiatives are trying to find creative ways to integrate these former soldiers and give them a new sense of purpose.
After returning from the frontline in February 2024 with suicidal thoughts, Bohdan Bunchak is now leading ‘Alternative Education’ a programme which helps veterans recover from the mental trauma of conflict through engaging in creative projects. Photo: Anita Back.
Healing through art
Bunchak is now leading one of them, a pilot project implemented by the Ukrainian NGO Insha Osvita – which translates as Alternative Education – that is aimed at veterans who worked in the arts or education before the war. The six-month pilot called Vilno – ‘Free’ – begins in September. Ten veterans chosen from a group Bunchak interviewed will receive psychological and legal support, and a small allowance to spend on a project of their choice.
‘What we often hear from veterans is that they need a community of people with similar experiences,’ said Bunchak. ‘That’s what we’ll be trying to create and support. I will consider the project successful if none of the 10 participants commits suicide.’ The pilot is funded by the German foundation Robert Bosch Stiftung and, if successful, Bunchak hopes to raise the money needed to scale up the project.
The need for this and other mental-health services for veterans is rising fast. Ukraine has been fighting the Russian invasion since 2014 and there are now thought to be 1.2 million veterans. Ukraine’s Ministry of Veteran Affairs, which is six years old, has limited experience in designing mental health support for them.
A close friend who has been fighting since the start of the full-scale invasion told me about his encounter with a psychologist. ‘There was a so-called expert visiting us, offering to talk,’ he said. ‘We didn’t trust her because we could feel she didn’t understand what we were going through’. He said he didn’t see himself returning to his hometown after the war to live among people who hadn’t experienced what he lived through.
A model that works
Ulana Suprun, Ukraine’s acting Minister of Health from 2016 to 2019, said: ‘In 2018 we noticed a spike in suicides by veterans, while there were no nationwide prevention mechanisms available.’ An American-Ukrainian doctor, Suprun led the drive to improve mental health services.
The Soviet legacy of inhumane attitudes to mental health patients and frequent use of psychiatric detention against dissidents left little appetite to develop the sector. Instead, Suprun’s team found a model of suicide prevention in an Australian NGO, LifeLine Australia.
‘The LifeLine call centre was staffed by veterans and people who had personal knowledge of mental health issues,’ said Suprun. ‘They had undergone training, creating a peer-to-peer system, aimed at engendering trust. Initial client contact was with the call centre, then, if necessary, a referral was given to a professional psychologist’.
LifeLine Ukraine, modelled on its Australian namesake, opened its phonelines to anyone, including veterans, in October 2019, having received its first grant from the UK Embassy. Given that most of its calls came between 8pm and 2am, its lines stay open 24/7.
