This week on The Memo, Kaylem Shepherd sits down with Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko for an unfiltered and deeply human conversation on War, Resilience, and the Mental Toll of Survival.We are nearly 1,120 days since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and millions of Ukrainians are still living under constant threat air raids, missile strikes, blackouts, displacement, and unimaginable loss.

Oleksiy Goncharenko, speaking from inside Ukraine, brings raw insight into the daily psychological battle Ukrainians are fighting: not just against tanks and drones, but against fear, trauma, and emotional exhaustion.

In this powerful interview, Oleksiy opens up about the resilience of ordinary Ukrainians, from frontline soldiers to families sheltering underground. He shares firsthand stories of grief, hope, and resistance, and doesn’t hold back on the mental health crisis unfolding beneath the surface of Ukraine’s war effort.

Together, Kaylem and Oleksiy unpack what it really feels like to live through a war you didn’t choose: the survivor’s guilt, the sleepless nights, the anger, the numbness and the determination to keep going.They also dive into what the world often gets wrong about Ukraine, the emotional cost of being a public voice during a national trauma, and why mental resilience has become as critical as military defense. If you want to understand the human side of this war, beyond headlines and geopolitics — this episode is a raw, emotional, and essential listen.

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