Kiev will conscript 160,000 more troops over the next three months, according to statements from lawmakers and media outlets. More than a million soldiers have already been drafted, yet high losses have left the Ukrainian Armed Forces plagued by manpower shortages.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces had around 250,000 active-duty personnel at the beginning of 2022, a number that rapidly swelled once Vladimir Zelensky called up reservists and forbade draft-age men from leaving the country.

This spring, faced with mounting losses, Kiev lowered the draft age from 27 to 25 and significantly tightened mobilization rules, requiring potential recruits to report to conscription offices for “data validation.” These checks often result in people being immediately taken into the army and sent to the front line.

    • interdimensionalmeme@lemmy.ml
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      4 days ago

      Statists are monsters, it does not matter which is the colour of their ideas.

      To all statists, the penalty for the crime of conscription is that I will exterminate all of your officers and officials. I will expunge the myth of your nation like the disease that it is.

      Death to the egregores !

  • filister@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    Wars suck so much.

    To be honest, I don’t want to be forced to kill other human beings because of some shitty politicians who decided so.

    It makes me sick to the bone.

    • Bobr@lemmy.libertarianfellowship.org
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      5 days ago

      They don’t have a choice. It is this or being Russian slaves.

      Hey, thank you for your insightful comment!

      Could you please expand on that and tell me more about people in Crimea and other liberated cities being Russian slaves?

      Also while you are at it - could you please also explain to me how being unable to leave your country where you can be kidnapped on a street at any day and sent to die is not considered slavery / is better than “being Russian slave”? How did that happen that “Russian slaves” can move to Ukraine controlled territories at any time and supposedly stop being slaves, but those who are on Ukraine controlled territories cannot do the opposite (and yet for some reason you wouldn’t consider them slaves)?

      • WestBromwich@feddit.uk
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        4 days ago

        liberated

        Russia is imperialist and I don’t trust any of their “referendums” in the occupied regions of Ukraine, given that Russia rigs elections (that’s a video of ballot stuffing in Russia).

        could you please also explain to me how being unable to leave your country where you can be kidnapped on a street at any day and sent to die is not considered slavery

        I do think there is a point to make here. Ukrainians should be free to leave their country if they want. But anyway, I strongly disagree with your view that Russia’s imperialist invasion of Ukraine is “liberating” anything or anyone.

        • Bobr@lemmy.libertarianfellowship.org
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          4 days ago

          I do think there is a point to make here. Ukrainians should be free to leave their country if they want.

          But you still support Zelensky’s regime that makes it impossible, don’t you? :/
          You might not believe me, but if Zelensky didn’t turn Ukraine into his small huge North Korea where trapped people are kidnapped from the streets and sent to the meatgrinder - I’d be donating money to my country every month. But Zelensky made sure to make this impossible - supporting his regime is supporting trapping innocent people in a war-torn country with missiles/drones/shells flying over them. People afraid of leaving their homes because “recruitment officers” can kidnap them them and send to die. People try to escape this hell, and die trying to “illegally” cross the border through rivers/mountains. Zelensky made sure to become our enemy #1.

          But anyway, I strongly disagree with your view that Russia’s imperialist invasion of Ukraine is “liberating” anything or anyone.

          But how is this not a liberation? Quote from a dictionary:

          To set free, as from oppression, confinement, or foreign control.

          People on the liberated territories are not confined and can leave at any time. People on Zelensky controlled territories quite literally cannot leave. You can argue that it wasn’t started as liberation. But it is now, unless my dictionary is wrong about the definition of word “liberate”. It didn’t have to be, but thanks to Zelensky it is.

          • WestBromwich@feddit.uk
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            4 days ago

            Are people in Russian-occupied territories free to protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine? No. They would get put in prison, or worse. So they aren’t free.

            I do think Ukrainians should be allowed to leave Ukraine. But you seem to be blaming Zelenskyy for the Russian shells, being fired by Russian forces. For some reason you don’t want to put any blame at all on the Kremlin - why is that?

            • Bartsbigbugbag@lemmy.ml
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              2 days ago

              Are people in Ukrainian controlled territories free to protest against forced conscription and withdrawal of passports? No, they will get put into prison, and given a choice to join the military or serve a long sentence.

              • WestBromwich@feddit.uk
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                2 days ago

                If that’s true then both Ukrainians and Russians have impositions on their freedom, but at least Ukraine seems to have had democratic elections over the last 10 years, whereas Russia has been rigging their elections, perhaps since 1999 (or longer than that).

                Anyway, I would definitely like for Ukrainians to be allowed to leave their country if they wish. But the blame for this invasion surely rests on Russia. The Kremlin launched this imperialistic invasion in 2022, building upon their earlier invasions in 2014.

            • Bobr@lemmy.libertarianfellowship.org
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              4 days ago

              Are people in Russian-occupied territories free to protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine? No. They would get put in prison, or worse. So they aren’t free.

              The only free people in this reality are billionaires. It’s not about who is free, it is about who is more free. Are you trying to say that people on liberated territories are less free than people on Zelensky controlled territories because… they can protest Russia’s invasion of Ukraine? So the ability to protest Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is more important than freedom of movement and not being kidnapped from the streets?

              I do think Ukrainians should be allowed to leave Ukraine.

              Well thank you at least for that (that’s not even sarcasm btw, that’s already more helpful than most of the world), but again - you support Zelensky’s regime which is the one making it impossible.

              But you seem to be blaming Zelenskyy for the Russian shells, being fired by Russian forces.

              I blame him for turning Ukraine into his North Korea. I blame him for trapping people, who die trying to cross the border by mountains/rivers, or hide at homes afraid to leave. I blame him for kidnapping people from the streets and sending them to the meatgrinder (so, killing them).

              For some reason you don’t want to put any blame at all on the Kremlin - why is that?

              Here it is: I condemn Kremlin, Russia, Putin and everybody else responsible for this war.

                • Bobr@lemmy.libertarianfellowship.org
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                  2 days ago

                  I have looked only at the name of the links and not the actual content (there are too many of them) - but I didn’t notice anything about North Koreans being able to leave the country by means other than “illegally” crossing the border (this is the criterian I used to compare the countries)? If one of the links covers this topic I’d be interested in reading it.

              • WestBromwich@feddit.uk
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                4 days ago

                I do think Ukrainians should be free to leave the country if they wish. But I definitely blame the Kremlin for starting this invasion. Really they started it in 2014 when they sent troops into Crimea and the Donbas.

    • doubtingtammy@lemmy.ml
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      4 days ago

      Negotiating a political settlement isn’t “giving up”. Turning off the meat grinder is not “giving up”

  • fox2263@lemmy.world
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    5 days ago

    lol forced.

    The wording of these things. While technically correct, it’s a draft. Because you know, the thousand day invasion threatening their existence.

    • CMonster@discuss.online
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      5 days ago

      Conscription is usually an ongoing event. A draft is a specific, often temporary, implementation of conscription.

    • Bobr@lemmy.libertarianfellowship.org
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      5 days ago

      Because you know, the thousand day invasion threatening their existence.

      Whose existence?
      Seriously, what kind of mental gymnastics one needs to do to consider this a valid argument…
      Show me, how is the existence of people on liberated territories (like Crimea, Melitopol and so on) are threatened?
      Or maybe those people are actually okay (well, at least relatively to those of us who are still stuck on Zelensky controlled territories…) and it’s the lives of those whom Zelensky can still reach are threatened, because his regime can kidnap them at any moment and send to the meatgrinder?

    • SoJB@lemmy.ml
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      5 days ago

      That’s literally what forced means. Are you an Israeli or something?

      • fox2263@lemmy.world
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        5 days ago

        It’s the negative connotation of the wording that I was implying, not the meaning.

        Are you American or something?

        • geneva_convenience@lemmy.mlOP
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          5 days ago

          He is implying Ukrainians are not drafted Israel style. There is no 30 day prison vacation for refusing to obey. These people are thrown in the back of a van and transported to the battlefield to slightly extend what is already a lost war.

          The west is not serious about supporting Ukraine to victory. That much should be obvious by now. Even the mainstream newspapers are saying Ukraine is not fighting to win now.

          • fox2263@lemmy.world
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            5 days ago

            I’m not Israeli though. What is Israeli style. Israel is not being invaded.

            Without sending troops, there isn’t much else the west can do beyond allowing deep strikes with their missiles which I agree should never have been an issue.

            Again though, conscription via a draft while forced yes, is not the inference of the wording of the article. It’s trying to paint Ukraine in a bad light for having to do it vs Russia who have done worse for their manpower goals.

            • geneva_convenience@lemmy.mlOP
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              5 days ago

              The argument is not “Russia good”. Russia bad too.

              The point is: any Ukrainian who is not ideologically driven to fight against Russia should not be forced to do so. Their deaths will not achieve anything meaningful.

              This is a war of attrition. Ukraine has not received the military support required to win.

              • fox2263@lemmy.world
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                5 days ago

                Hmm Ukraine can’t receive men so they have to use their own men. I don’t understand the argument

                • geneva_convenience@lemmy.mlOP
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                  5 days ago

                  Ukraine can receive men. There are multiple volunteers from other countries fighting for Ukraine.

                  You too are allowed to go and fight for Ukraine. Are you willing to risk your own life, or admit that Ukrainian men are treated as disposable toys instead of humans?

  • P_P@lemm.ee
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    5 days ago

    Forced? Their fighting for their survival for fuck’s sake.

    • selokichtli@lemmy.ml
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      5 days ago

      They are forced. They fight against the Ukrainian Army for their survival, because being drafted means they will probably die at this point. If they could keep avoiding the army, they would probably survive until this madness ends.

      You can have your side on this and think Ukraine is fighting for survival, but that’s a point of view, an idea. Some facts are:

      1. Ukraine is currently loosing this war. It’s even territorial.
      2. Ukraine is loosing support from their allies. And if Trump wins, which is somehow plausible, they’d be practically alone.
      3. Recently drafted citizens are just that, they are not soldiers. With their morale, they probably aren’t even fighters.
      4. A good chunk of the remaining Ukrainian people don’t want to fight no more.
      5. Drafting more inexperienced citizens will at best slow down the course of the current events.