LVIV, UKRAINE — Andriy Zholob, the deputy mayor of Lviv for Veterans Affairs, understood there was, unmistakably, a mental health crisis brewing among Ukrainian veterans after one disquieting phone call.

Zholob recounted to the Washington Examiner the moment when a former comrade in arms called him to say his car had been towed away. The veteran, a former prisoner of war suffering tremendous mental anguish after returning from service, was politely asking Zholob if he was allowed to shoot the officer who had impounded his vehicle.