The Worst Is Yet To Come: Kremlin Concerned With Thousands Soldiers Coming Home - The Russian Dude [View all]

The war may not be over, but the soldiers are already coming back—and Russia isn’t ready. In this explosive deep-dive inspired by Novaya Gazeta’s harrowing documentary The Returned, we explore the Kremlin’s terrifying new crisis: hundreds of thousands of traumatized Russian veterans returning from Ukraine. Scarred by combat, abandoned by the state, and stripped of any support, these men are not just dealing with PTSD—they’re dealing with a society that has no place for them.

This episode breaks down the psychological destruction plaguing Russian troops who fought in Ukraine. From survivor's guilt and moral injury to dehumanization, denial, alcoholism, and rage, these men are walking time bombs in a country that pretends they don’t exist. The Russian state, eager to celebrate heroism but allergic to accountability, is now haunted by the very monsters it created.

We analyze how propaganda turned soldiers into weapons, only to toss them aside when they were no longer useful. We look at the long-term consequences of sending hundreds of thousands of broken men back into broken homes with no therapy, no benefits, and no future. What happens when these ex-combatants feel betrayed? When their trauma turns into violence? When silence becomes rage?

This is not just a story about war—it’s about what happens after. It’s about how Russia is now facing a domestic explosion of untreated mental trauma, family collapse, and veteran violence. It's a story of forgotten promises, rising instability, and a state unwilling to care for the very people it used as cannon fodder.

Watch now to uncover the hidden cost of Putin’s war in Ukraine, the horrifying future awaiting post-war Russia, and why the worst is yet to come.