Charlotte Gallagher
๐ค SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
From Kiev, BBC Ukrainian reporter Anastasia Kribonova has spoken to three women who've lost their loved ones to suicide during the war.
Their names have been changed in this report.
And a warning, this report contains references to suicide and themes people may find distressing.
Victoria can't hold back her tears as she speaks about her late husband, Andrei.
I want to remember him the way he was before the war.
Andrii volunteered at the start of the invasion.
He witnessed some of the fiercest battles with the Russian army, but later died by suicide, according to Ukrainian officials.
When they told me he had taken his own life, my life split in two, before and after.
What followed was a cold shock.
Military funerals have become part of Lviv's daily rhythm.
The dead are remembered as heroes, their coffins often carried on the shoulders of fellow soldiers.
But there were no such honours for Andriy.
Ukrainian law classifies his death as a non-combat loss, meaning no compensation and no burial with honours.
Victoria says the stigma she carries has left her isolated.
What hurts me the most is that my husband was defending this country.
Even if he did take his own life, he spent a year and a half protecting this land.
She feels let down by the official investigation, which has since been reopened after the prosecutor acknowledged shortcomings.
And she is not alone in feeling overlooked.
The ever-growing military cemetery near Frankivsk is a stark symbol of Ukraine's losses.
Kateryna comes here every other day.