Dismantling the Kremlin’s Propaganda Clichés: A Psychological Retreat

Psychological retreats for military families and internally displaced persons (IDPs) are crucial. These groups often endure extreme stress, anxiety, and emotional burnout due to prolonged separation, constant uncertainty, and caregiving responsibilities.

The “Wings of Victory” charity / “Aybolit: On the Way to Recovery” project within the Capable and Resistant Program (administered by the East Europe Foundation with the financial support of the Swiss Embassy) provides safe spaces for emotional recovery. Art therapy sessions help participants explore their inner emotional landscapes. Within this supportive environment, attendees gain a clearer understanding of their psychological needs while acquiring tools for personal growth.

During Wednesday’s 6-hour session with 14 women from the target group in Bilychansky Forest, we structured activities to share personal stories, discuss trauma in group settings, provide individual psychologist consultations, and administer psychological assessments.

The discussions were deeply moving yet interspersed with moments of levity—jokes, laughter, coffee breaks, art sessions, and delicious snacks.

Participants reminisced about their former homes in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the cities of Siverskodonetsk, Luhansk, Krasnodon (now Sorokyne), Kherson, Kharkiv, Chornobaivka.

(Despite Kremlin propaganda claims about these being “Russian-speaking regions,” all participants conversed fluently in Ukrainian.)

Many described their immediate post-relocation urge to volunteer. “The need to help felt like finding water in the desert,” explained Maryna Borysova, the group’s founder and wife of an active-duty soldier, now on the front line. Most participants have immediate family members currently serving.

When asked why they volunteer without pay despite personal hardships, responses were emotional: “Only those who’ve never seen what we’ve seen would ask that. We’ve lost everything we have created and cherished for years. But we are united by fate and the path that fell to us and the determination to walk this path with dignity until victory, for which the great price of the lives of our sons and husbands was paid.”

Each woman’s story is a story of strength, courage, love, and faith. They are incredible. Their unpaid labor represents the quiet heroism inherent in the nation of the unconquered, sustaining the spirit and valor of our army.

We concluded by planning our next gathering—a visit to Barcelona, our therapy mare. Participants fondly remember the comfort they derived from last year’s equine interactions and eagerly anticipate reconnecting.

‼ This initiative is realized by the Wings of Victory charity within the Capable and Resistant Program implemented by the East Europe Foundation with the financial support of Switzerland.

We also express our sincere gratitude to our permanent sponsors, without which the activities of the project would be impossible: