A charity festival in Ukraine's Rivne region raised funds to establish a laboratory of innovative virtual reality (VR) solutions for the rehabilitation of Ukrainian service members, highlighting the growing role of VR technology in military psychological support.
The initiative is featured in an Ukrinform report.
"The festival is organized for a charitable purpose – to raise funds for the creation of a laboratory of innovative VR solutions for the rehabilitation of defenders," the report says.
According to the publication, military specialists demonstrated innovative mental health tools to civilians during the Young Borshch festival in the Rivne region. Major Borys Kondratiuk, an officer with the Personnel Psychological Support Directorate of Operational Command West, said VR technology has become an essential tool for military psychologists.
"We use virtual reality both to prepare soldiers for their first combat experience by safely controlling the psychological load and for deep relaxation. By putting on VR headsets, a servicemember can mentally escape as far as possible from their problems – to the snow-covered Alps or a seashore – to completely disconnect from what they have experienced," the major explained.
