‘The War Made Him a Monster’: Ukrainian women become victims of domestic violence after husbands return from battlefield

Kyiv: As the Russian invasion of Ukraine has entered its second year, the trials and tribulations of Ukrainian women, especially the ones whose husbands have been sent to fight the battle, have only seen a rise.

Ukrainian women who are able to flee the war are met with a different kind of violence at their homes at the hands of their traumatised soldier husbands. According to TIME, cases of domestic violence have increased in Ukraine as men return to their families after long spells of being on the battlefield.

Since February 2022, police in Ukraine have recorded an increasing number of cases of domestic violence that has been linked to the aftermath of the Russian invasion.

Experts believe that gender-based violence like domestic violence will only increase as the war has entered a second year.

The rise in domestic violence cases

As per data provided by hotlines set up to assist victims of domestic violence, there was a significant increase in the number of calls in the months after the invasion.

From January to April 2022, there were about 67,000 calls made to the hotline, 40 per cent more than the same period a year before that.

In addition to this, Kateryna Cherepakha, a woman who runs one of these hotlines, said that a number of cases might have gone unreported as millions of civilians fled the war.

Cherepakha’s organisation ‘La Strada’, witnessed more calls over the spring and summer months of 2022, particularly in August when calls peaked at 5,000.

Women describe their ordeal

A Ukrainian woman named Oksana recalls waking up in the middle of the night only to find her husband choking her. She also says that one time he tried to stab her.

Ever since Oksana’s husband returned from the war, he has been having a hard time recognising her. She said, “We were sitting in the kitchen and I was trying to explain to him that I am your wife, and he was just telling me how he will kill me in a lot of detail because I am an enemy.”

Oksana’s husband was among the few to be first drafted for the war soon after Russia invaded Ukraine. He had previously fought in the 2014 war in the Donbas. Being one of the few survivors following a Russian ambush in Donetsk, Oksana’s husband “lost his mind” after he returned home, she said.

“Before May he didn’t even scream at me, he was the perfect husband, the perfect father. This current war made him a monster,” the 40-year-old said.

Another woman named Kateryna told Amnesty International, “I feel more vulnerable now. There are more conflicts at home. My husband’s aggression spilled out on me and my elder child. I cannot leave my children with my husband because of the uncertainty throughout the day. He lost his job and now my husband is overwhelmed with emotion and nerves.”

A humanitarian worker assisting the victims of domestic violence said, “There were 60 people living in a gym. I was working on this issue before but even without my experience, [signs of violence] can be seen with the naked eye. I saw a lot of it there.”

Victims of domestic violence are currently housed in shelters run by various non-profit organisations.

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