Citation

Shoib S, Armiya'u AY, Chandradasa M, Zharkova A, Kolesnyk P, Swed S, Lucero-Prisno DE. Glob. Ment. Health (Camb.) 2022; 9: 470-471.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Cambridge University Press)

DOI

10.1017/gmh.2022.32

PMID

36601575

PMCID

PMC9805696

Abstract

The Russian-Ukrainian socio-political relationship is embroiled in centuries of conflicts, bloodshed and brutal invasions. The modern dissension dates back to the 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia in the aftermath of the Ukrainian Revolution of Dignity and has been escalating rapidly during the recent months. The tensions between the two nations have boiled over to the Russian forces entering Ukrainian soil from the North, South, and East on 24 February 2022. This puts the lives of millions of people at risk, particularly those residing in Eastern Ukraine who are estimated to be around 14 million people and also residents of major cities in other parts of the country (Ukraine, 2022). The ongoing armed conflict will have a deleterious impact on their mental health and social wellbeing. The fear of further armed aggression will force people to leave their homes and will lead to dire mental health consequences (Jazeera, Reference Jazeera2022).

Armed interventions will have a disastrous impact on the mental health of individuals in conflict-affected regions. According to new WHO estimates, the prevalence of mental health disorders in conflict settings at any point in time is estimated to be 22.1% (Charlson et al., Reference Charlson, van Ommeren, Flaxman, Cornett, Whiteford and Saxena2019). Applying these estimates to the populations in the conflict-affected areas in Ukraine suggests that millions of people are at risk of negative psychiatric consequences, with many potentially requiring urgent psychological support...

Language: en