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Navigating mental health issues amid the seemingly never-ending war in Ukraine remains a challenge.

More than two years on from the escalation of war, teams from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) continue to assist patients on the frontlines, with MSF psychologists delivering psychological support tailored to patients' needs.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) strongly condemns the missile attack on its office in Pokrovsk, Donetsk region, Ukraine, on 5 April. Following the attack, in which MSF's office was destroyed, we have suspended medical humanitarian activities in the Donetsk region temporarily, except supporting emergency care and ambulance referral services.  

Two years on from the escalation of war in Ukraine on 24 February 2022, MSF teams continue to assist patients on the frontlines of a seemingly never ending war. 

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is partnering with the local volunteer organisation, Way of Ukraine, who run a transit shelter in Zernove in Kharkiv region. 

With Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ukraine has become the most heavily mined country globally; around 30 per cent of its territory may be contaminated with landmines and unexploded ordnance.

On Monday 20 November, two missiles hit a hospital in Selydove, Donetsk region of Ukraine, where five Médecins Sans Frontières staff were present. 

Dr Lisa Searle is a general practitioner from Tasmania who has built a career with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), completing 11 assignments since 2010.

 This was the second time MSF has had to evacuate patients from the same hospital in the past year as a result of attacks on the facility.

The war in Ukraine has created a huge need for psychological support, ranging from psychological first aid to comprehensive psychological care. People have experienced fear, trauma and isolation and are showing symptoms of anxiety, depression and stress.  

Peter Clausen completed an electrical apprenticeship after school, he then went on to study journalism and work for the ABC in North Queensland, before completing a Masters in Disaster Management. He is an experienced MSF project coordinator and progressed to head of mission over his eight assignments. He first worked in Yemen in 2013, followed by projects in Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Afghanistan, Iran, Tanzania, and most recently Ukraine in 2022 and again in 2023.