Ukraine’s Forgotten Soldiers: Families Grapple with Stigma of War-Linked Suicides

Kateryna cannot speak of her son, Orest, without tears. Official reports list him as having died by a “self-inflicted wound” while on the frontline in eastern Donetsk in 2023 — a classification that has left his family reeling with grief and anger.

Orest, 25, had dreamed of an academic life. Poor eyesight initially deemed him unfit for service, yet a recruitment patrol later deemed him partially fit, and he was sent to the front as a communications specialist. Kateryna now writes daily letters to her son — over 650 — mourning the lack of recognition and support for families of soldiers who die by suicide.

Ukraine has lost over 45,000 soldiers since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Yet a quieter, often unacknowledged tragedy unfolds: suicides among troops. Officially described as “isolated incidents,” human rights advocates and bereaved families estimate the toll could run into the hundreds.

Kateryna says the system divides soldiers into those who “died the right way” and those who “died the wrong way.” Families of suicide victims receive no compensation, no military honours, and no public recognition. “The state took my son, sent him to war, and brought me back a body in a bag. That’s it. No help, no truth, nothing,” she laments.

Similar stories echo across Ukraine. Mariyana from Kyiv recounts how her husband Anatoliy, a volunteer sent to Bakhmut, took his own life after surviving a harrowing battle and losing part of his arm. Despite his service, officials denied him a military burial. “When he stood on the front line, he was useful. But now he’s not a hero?” Mariyana asks. She has also experienced social stigma from other widows, intensifying her sense of isolation.

These accounts highlight a growing concern over the mental health crisis among Ukrainian soldiers and the systemic neglect of those who die by suicide, raising urgent questions about the support structures for families and troops exposed to relentless combat trauma.