His voice quiet and at times wobbly, a Ukrainian soldier called Maksym candidly shares his mental trauma from fighting on the frontline.
“Everything the Russians have done – trying to destroy us, killing our fellow soldiers – it deeply affects my emotional state,” he said. “War is tough.”
The soldier agreed to speak to Sky News as he received support at a makeshift psychological centre in eastern Ukraine, set up by fellow troops from 41st Brigade.
The facility can hold around 10 service personnel at a time, each able to stay for a few days.
As well as being offered a bed, food and space to relax, each visitor is also assessed by military psychologists and encouraged to speak about what is going on in their mind.
Maksym said as soon as he left a two-week rotation in the frontline town of Chasiv Yar, in the Donbas, he knew something was wrong.
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“There were a lot of thoughts swirling in my head about what had happened, and I couldn’t shake them off,” he said, clasping his hands and at times staring into space.
“It was all weighing heavily on me, so I turned to a psychologist to provide me with some assistance.”
Like the majority of Ukrainians fighting Russia’s full-scale war, Maksym had previously been a civilian. He worked as an electrical engineer but signed up to fight in April 2022.
Apologising as his voice broke with emotion, he said that the war had changed him.
He described the pain of being unable to see his family easily when deployed on operations – and the agony of not knowing at times whether he would survive to be with them again.
Maksym said the support hub offered some respite.
“This place is very helpful because you try to get rid of everything you’ve been through, to recover, to gather your thoughts… because a soldier who is broken inside…”
He suddenly paused and said sorry once more for his voice faltering.
Maksym then continued: “He cannot perform these tasks properly and can cause harm.”
It is a warning that rings true for every conflict, where mental health conditions – such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) – caused by exposure to violence, danger and loss can be devastating if left untreated.
There are no publicly available figures on the number of Ukrainian military personnel and veterans who have PTSD, according to a report by the Kyiv Independent new outlet.
However, it cited health ministry figures that showed a sharp rise last year in diagnoses of the condition to 12,494 cases, compared with 3,167 in 2021, though it was unclear whether servicemen and women were included in the data.
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Ilya, a lieutenant, is a military psychologist who works at the support centre, which was set up inside what had been an abandoned building.
The place is quite basic with a line of camp beds, separated by makeshift dividers, and a small canteen. Staff said they would love additional equipment such as board games, a snooker table and a better television set.
Still, the facility is a relatively new idea to be able to treat Ukrainian soldiers’ hidden mental wounds close to the frontline.
There have long been stabilisation hubs to deal with physical injuries.
“The main goal is to rehabilitate servicemen so that they remain healthy, both physically and mentally, emotionally, and with their thoughts in order,” Ilya said.
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He was previously a combat soldier, so understands the trauma of war from personal experience – a background that means his patients feel more comfortable to open up about their own experiences.
He said it is vital to pay attention to a person’s mental scars.
“I tell the guys: You can stay silent, but it [the trauma] will stay inside you, and the more you accumulate, the worse it becomes… None of us is made of steel.”
As for the danger of leaving mental injuries untreated, he said: “We may lose a serviceman. He will start having problems, and besides harming himself, he may harm other people.”
But with Ukraine suffering troop shortages, only those at the centre who display the most serious signs of mental trauma are sent on for further treatment.
The rest must return to the frontline.
Maksym said he believes he will soon be asked to fight once again “because it’s war”.
He added: “This is our land… If we retreat, we will lose Ukraine. Next will be Poland, then other countries. The aggression won’t stop. We need to stop it where we can.”
Israel has unleashed a series of huge strikes on Beirut, with its military saying it struck the central headquarters of the militant group Hezbollah.
The attack shook windows across the Lebanese capital and sent thick clouds of smoke billowing into the air.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was the intended target of the strike and a senior Israeli official said it was too early to say whether the attack was successful.
“I think it’s too early to say, but, you know, it’s a question of time. Sometimes they hide the fact when we succeed,” the official said when asked if the Israeli strike on Friday had killed Nasrallah.
Asked how long it might take to determine the fate of Nasrallah, the senior Israeli official said: “Certainly if he’s alive, you’ll know it very immediately. If he’s dead, it may take some time.”
A source close to Hezbollah told Reuters Nasrallah is still alive, and Iran’s Tasnim news agency also reported he was safe.
Lebanon’s health ministry said at least two were killed and 76 wounded in the strikes. It said the figures were preliminary.
The Israeli military claimed it had carried out a “precise strike” on Hezbollah’s headquarters which it said were “embedded under residential buildings in the heart of the Dahieh in Beirut”.
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It was the strongest strike carried out by Israel in Beirut during its nearly year-long conflict with Hezbollah, which began when the Iran-backed group began firing rockets into Israel almost immediately after Hamas attacked from Gaza on 7 October.
Israel has struck the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut, known as Dahieh, four times over the last week – killing at least three senior Hezbollah commanders.
Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the central command centre was embedded deep within civilian areas.
Four buildings in Dahieh were reduced to rubble, Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV reported.
Confusion around Nasrallah’s condition – and it could force Iran into a decision
There is still confusion around the fate of Hezbollah General Secretary Hassan Nasrallah.
After suspiciously rapid statements that he was “safe” there has not been an update for some hours. If he is alive, I would expect him to appear on TV as soon as possible to reassure his supporters and in a message of defiance.
Israeli sources say he was the target of the attacks but are yet to indicate whether they were successful. The blast site is so large, it will take time for rescue workers to find the dead. The civilian death toll is likely to rise considerably.
This is a pivotal moment. If Nasrallah has been killed it will be the biggest success for Israel so far. They tried to find and kill him in 2006, but failed. Leaders can be easily replaced and often with someone more dangerous than before, as witnessed by the killing of the former Hezbollah leader Abbas Al-Musawi in 1992. He was succeeded by Nasrallah.
Even if Nasrallah is dead, Hezbollah isn’t.
The immediate assumption is that the group would respond with barrages of missiles into Israel, probably targeting Tel Aviv.
So far tonight, there have been around 30 missiles fired. We witnessed interceptions in Haifa and one rocket hit a house in Safed. Much more could come.
But Hezbollah will again be in disarray. Their command structure has been severely degraded. It will probably take time to co-ordinate a response and it will probably be with Iranian guidance.
Iran must also make a choice now. Tehran has not seen eye to eye with Nasrallah in recent weeks, but the loss of such an important ally will be a huge blow to the Supreme Leader, if it turns out that he has been killed.
Having resisted the opportunity to get involved, Iran might decide the time has come to take the gloves off and deploy the thousands of missiles they have provided Hezbollah with.
Alternatively, after such a difficult 10 days, they might decide this round of fighting needs to end and pull back with Hezbollah still in some shape to rebuild and fight another day.
Iran’s embassy in Beirut described the strikes as a “dangerous, game-changing escalation”, calling them a “crime” that merits “appropriate punishment”.
The strikes came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to keep up Israel’s attacks on Iranian-backed fighters in Lebanon during a speech to the United Nations General Assembly.
“As long as Hezbollah chooses the path of war, Israel has no choice, and Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their homes safely,” he said.
“Israel has been tolerating this intolerable situation for nearly a year. Well, I’ve come here today to say enough is enough.”
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‘Everywhere in Lebanon is dangerous’
The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has dramatically escalated this week, with Israeli airstrikes killing more than 700 people in Lebanon, raising fears of an all-out war between the two sides.
Tens of thousands have been forced to flee their homes on both sides of the border.
Benjamin Netanyahu loves the platform of the United Nations but the UN doesn’t love him.
As he entered, hundreds of diplomats left. He delivered his speech to a chamber more than half empty.
Mr Netanyahu claimed he was not initially going to attend, but was compelled to by the “lies and slanders” he heard from other leaders.
He used the moment to remind the world of 7 October and the ongoing fate of hostages being held inside Gaza.
He justified Israel’s war, claiming without evidence that it is the most moral campaign in history. Israel critics, of which there are many, accuse the country of genocide.
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Netanyahu slams Israel’s critics in UN speech
He pointed the finger at the “goons” in Iran as he has done year after year and described the Iranian axis across Iraq, Syria and Lebanon as a curse.
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He lambasted the International Criminal Court for seeking arrest warrants against him and defence minister Yoav Gallant.
He invoked biblical references to advocate modern-day peace but insisted his country must keep fighting multiple wars; there was not even a passing glance to the US-French proposal for a truce in Lebanon.
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Mr Netanyahu again dedicated time to speak about the prospect of normalisation with Saudi Arabia, something he is desperate for, but the Kingdom’s Crown Prince isn’t.
Riyadh won’t make peace with Israel without a path to an independent Palestinian state, and that is something Mr Netanyahu isn’t willing to give.
Mr Netanyahu does these moments well. He is a master of the media and revels in the moment.
In the end though, we heard nothing new.
It was passionate and it was angry. It had maps as props and a crowd flown in to cheer along.
After a week of airstrikes in the neighbourhood of Dahieh, the shock of an explosion is rarely followed by surprise.
When we arrived in this densely populated part of southern Beirut, the street was filled with glass and rubble and weary-looking faces. This is the fourth time in a week that this area has been hit.
Behind a cordon, we could see a damaged apartment block just down the street. Below, a popular juice shop called “Tasty Bees” had survived unscathed.
A detachment of Lebanese troops stood guard at the scene, but we knew they were not in charge in this part of the city.
Dahieh is run by the political and military group Hezbollah and we were invited by their security personnel to take a closer look at the site.
The fourth floor was badly damaged by a series of precision-guided missiles.
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The outer walls of various apartments had been removed, revealing mattresses, curtains and colourful chandeliers.
The Israeli military claims to have killed a Hezbollah commander called Mohammed Surur in the strike.
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The country’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu later said that he had authorised it and described Surur as the leader of the Iran-backed group’s unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or drone division.
Surur’s death has not been confirmed by Hezbollah – but it certainly has not intimidated some of the group’s supporters.
“I’d die for Hezbollah,” shouted one man and he brushed the rubble off the top of his battered-looking car.
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Our tour came as the international community launched an urgent attempt for a temporary truce in a conflict that has killed more than 1,500 this year. But prospects for a ceasefire were quickly blown away by the blast.
At least two have died, with 15 injured in this attack.
The mayor of the local suburb Atef Mansour gave voice to the feeling shared by many here.
“What happened is an ongoing crime committed by the Israeli enemy, and we witness this scene every day, day after day in a densely populated neighbourhood.”
Yet Hezbollah has continued its military operations, sending 45 rockets into northern Israel. Such attacks invite an inevitable response.
As far as our minders in Dahieh were concerned, the purpose of our visit was clear – to communicate the impact on civilians of such strikes.