Under pressure to mobilise 200,000 extra soldiers, Ukraine army recruiters are resorting to checkpoints, bundling men off the street and ignoring exemptions
In Odesa, a city of almost one million, one local conscription officer detailed how his department was falling well short of its targets. “We’re not mobilising even 20 per cent of what is required,” he said, adding that on some days more than 100 call-up papers were handed out, yet only a handful of men would respond. “Odesa region is one of the worst on the list.”
lmao no shot a city with a lot of russians in it dont wanna go do genocide against russians? 96% of people there speak russian at home. truly im shocked
Critics have condemned such “Soviet” tactics as counterproductive. But Tim Willasey-Wilsey, a lecturer in defence and security at King’s College London, said: “The liberals in us all want to say this is self-defeating. On the other hand, I was speaking with a Ukrainian friend whose husband has been on the front line since 2022 and she said it was disgraceful for fighting-age men to hide from conscription.
But Tim Willasey-Wilsey, a lecturer in defence and security at King’s College London, said: “The liberals in us all want to say this is self-defeating. On the other hand
Translation: Well it's not happening to me, my family, or my social class so this time it's fine
This is the case with off-screen violence for 999/1000 people who advocate for war, forceful suppression, etc. - they'd change their mind really, really quickly if someone in a suit so much as made a weird face at them.
Being stuck underneath someone in a novice level competition is a really uncomfortable experience. Being stuck underneath someone who you can't double tap to make them stop is terrifying. Being stuck underneath someone who wants to harm you is a nightmare. Being stuck underneath someone who wants to harm you with a weapon is worse. Being stuck underneath someone who wants to torture you with a weapon while their friends cheer them on is a tragedy. Then when you hear about that shit happening to your neighbor after 20% of Koreans died during a war, suddenly the guy with nuclear weapons who says he's against that sort of thing seems like a nice guy to you.
When a socialist state needs soldiers, it doesn't seem like they need conscripts. People are willing and able, for the most part. It's only when a state loses its socialist characteristics and begins to prioritize expansion over stability that we see things break down.