Originally Posted by
NutLoose
That’s what you get...
How about you take your political whinging to Jet Blast, where it belongs?
Story from the BBC:
Ukraine is struggling to meet its demand for soldiers.
Volunteers aren't enough. The country constantly needs to replace the tens of thousands who've been killed or injured. Many more are just exhausted, after 18 months fighting off Russia's full-scale invasion.
Some men though don't want to fight. Thousands have left the country, sometimes after bribing officials, and others are finding ways of dodging recruitment officers, who in turn have been accused of increasingly heavy-handed tactics.
"The system is very outdated," says Yehor. He watched his father suffer from mental health issues after fighting with the Soviet Army in Afghanistan. It's why he doesn't want to fight. He's asked that we don't use his real name to protect his identity.
Typically, before Russia's invasion, men who didn't want to do military service because of their religious beliefs would be offered an alternative - like working in farming or social services. That choice disappeared with the start of martial law last year, but Yehor thinks it should still be available, regardless of peoples' reasons.
"Each situation is individual," argues Yehor. "The fact it is written in the constitution that all male citizens must fight is, in my opinion, not in line with today's values."
He was recently sent to a recruitment centre after being stopped by police in Kyiv, who accused him of avoiding the draft. He was eventually allowed to go home, after pleading that he had back problems, but next time he fears he won't be.
There are exemptions from service, including having poor health, being a single parent, and caring for someone vulnerable. But those convicted of draft-dodging face fines, or even up to three years in prison.
"Everyone should be allowed to contribute to this war if their situations are taken into account," says Yehor. "I feel sorry for people who are on the front lines, yet I don't have a pacifist alternative."
Something I mentioned in the Unpleasantries thread: somewhere around 6 to 8 million Ukrainians are displaced/refugees. This war has inflicted a massive cost, in human capital, since it began, and that's before casualties are added into the human cost.
(Germany has taken in about a million according to the UNHCR.).
From a starting population of 44 million or so in 2022, that's a substantial loss of population (a bit over a fifth).
To put that in perspective, if the UK lost a fifth of their population over the course of a year, how many people would be gone? (Between 13 and 14 million). FWIW, Syria has suffered a similar loss of population since 2011.
Some of the Ukrainian refugees are obviously not combat/military eligible, but others are/were. They are having troop/recruitment/conscription shortages/problems. Those who have fled are, it appears, beyond the reach of the recruiters and/or conscription organizations.
Doubtless some who had initially fled have returned home to fight the invasion.
How many more will do that? Unknown.