{"id":116040,"date":"2024-11-29T18:21:14","date_gmt":"2024-11-29T15:21:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/116040\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"ukrainian-war-veterans-need-understanding-mental-help-ex-fighter-says","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/116040\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukrainian war veterans need understanding, mental help, ex-fighter says"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

November 29, Pozirk<\/em>. <\/strong>Belarusian volunteers who fought for Ukraine and their families feel that they are misunderstood by Belarusians in the first place, and also locals in the countries where they are trying to settle down, said Alaksandar K\u0142a\u010dko, chairman of the opposition Coordination Council’s national security committee and former member of the Kastu\u015b Kalino\u016dski Regiment (KKR).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He took part in a news conference in Vilnius a week after the extradition of former KKR fighter Vasil Vieramiej\u010dyk from Vietnam to Belarus. K\u0142acko stressed that the incident was evidence of problems that have been unresolved for two and a half years, noting that Vieramiej\u010dyk met with misunderstanding from civilians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The man who fired a grenade launcher at a Russian tank from 100 meters in Sievierodonetsk in June 2022 . . . and saved the lives of many guys, was misunderstood and not accepted by his own society. As a result, he was also misunderstood by Lithuanian society. The same issue is relevant for Poland and Ukraine, when our contracts expire.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

K\u0142a\u010dko said that there are 800 to 1,500 Belarusian veterans and 70 families of  Belarusian warriors killed in action, many of whom need psychological support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former fighters “hide their faces” because of a threat to their relatives in Belarus. Besides, combat experience is a red flag for migration services in Lithuania and Poland. “People just hide the fact that they were at war, that they fought against the ‘Russian world,'” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four veterans have died in Lithuania, K\u0142a\u010dko said. These deaths “are primarily related to the fact that they were not provided with proper psychological support,” he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coordination Council member Vieramiej\u010dyk, former deputy commander of the Vo\u0142at battalion, was arrested in Ho Chi Minh City on November 13 and extradited to Belarus the following day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The man had taken part in the 2020 protests in Belarus and later fled to Ukraine to join the KKR. He fought in battles in southern and eastern Ukraine, was wounded in the Mykolaiv region and awarded a medal. He is a co-founder of the Association of Belarusian Volunteers. Vieramiej\u010dyk was elected to the Coordination Council in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The former KKR fighter was forced to leave the European Union because Lithuanian officials considered him a security threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belarusian human rights groups have recognized Vieramiej\u010dyk as a political prisoner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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