Resilience Beyond the Battlefield: Prof. Ilse Derluyn on Ukraine’s Psychological Future

In this episode of the Eastern Frontline Podcast, MEPs Reinis Pozņaks and Virginijus Sinkevičius speak with Prof. Ilse Derluyn about the hidden side of resilience.

The Eastern Frontline Group

By The Eastern Frontline Group

The Eastern Frontline Group is an informal alliance of 43 Members of the European Parliament from 13 EU countries, representing nearly all political groups. Founded in October 2024 by Latvian MEP Reinis Poznaks, EFG works to ensure that the unique challenges of EU states bordering Russia remain a priority on the Union’s political agenda.

01 Oct 2025

The discussion explores the long-term challenges Ukraine and Europe must prepare for — covering the mental health of youth, the post-war reintegration of veterans, and the role of diaspora. Prof. Derluyn warns that winning the war is only the beginning — healing society will take generations. 

She discusses why:

  • Veteran reintegration will be a decades-long challenge, requiring therapy, jobs, and community dialogue.
  • Children and youth will carry war trauma alongside the scars of COVID. Mental health must be a pillar of Ukraine’s recovery.
  • Different survival choices (fight, flee, freeze) are normal — but can fracture cohesion.
  • Diaspora and returnees will bring both skills and tensions — policies are needed to manage reintegration.
  • Post-war “blame cycles” are inevitable. Societies need mechanisms to evaluate mistakes without tearing themselves apart.

Listen below or via Apple Podcasts or Spotify

 

The Eastern Frontline podcast is hosted in the European Parliament by the Eastern Frontline Group (EFG), an alliance of 43 MEPs from 13 EU countries. Each episode, policymakers and experts discuss Europe’s most urgent security challenges, as well as the social, psychological, and human dimensions of resilience.

 

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