Stigma of Ukraine's forgotten soldiers who 'died the wrong way'

There are no official statistics surrounding suicide among Ukrainian soldiers, but they are thought to count in the hundreds.

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Kateryna cannot talk about her son, Orest, without tears. Her voice trembles with anger as she explains how she found out the news that he had died on the front line in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine in 2023.

According to the official investigation by the army, he died by a "self-inflicted wound", something Katernya finds hard to believe.

Kateryna has asked for her and her late son to remain anonymous due to the stigma that surrounds suicide and mental health in Ukraine.

Orest was a quiet 25-year-old who loved books and dreamed of an academic career. His poor eyesight had made him initially unfit for service at the start of the war, his mother says.