I see other The Daily Beast articles up on this board. I can only assume the previous thread was deleted for the added video link
https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-real-reason-thousands-are-fleeing-conscription-in-ukraine The Mad King Zelenksy, Ruler of Ashes and the First of His Name is devastating Russia with wave after wave of Ukrainian conscripts aged 18 to 60
The Real Reason Thousands Are Fleeing Conscription in Ukraine
There aren’t enough volunteers in Ukraine to make up for the constant flow of dead and wounded soldiers, filling the country’s graveyards and hospital beds.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says his military commanders seek an additional 450,000 to 500,000 men to compensate for casualties and expand the army in 2024. Finding men to replace the fallen is becoming more complex.
As people’s hope of a quick victory has faded and horror stories fill living rooms, some Ukrainian men are hiding to avoid mobilization.
Some stay home and avoid the streets, where police or military officers hand out draft notices and take men to military bases. Others flee Ukraine with falsified documents.
All healthy men between 18 and 60 are prohibited from leaving the country, so you need fake medical records to cross the border. The Daily Beast, for example, knows of one couple who bought fake documents stating that their child is disabled in order to let the father to flee the country.
The Daily Beast met a 31-year-old man who is trying to avoid being drafted into the army. He spoke to The Daily Beast on the condition of anonymity as he worries that he will be dragged to the military after publication.
The number of peoplewho don’t want to join the army, is unknown. People are afraid to raise their voices in public and simply stay at home to avoid detection. Around 20,000 men have fled Ukraine illegally since the Russian invasion began, according to the BBC. At least three men are reported to have drowned trying to escape Ukraine.
Anonymous
Quoted By:
On social media, there are often videos of what appear to be Ukrainian military men handing out draft notices on the streets and checking young men at checkpoints. Videos of fighting-age men being pulled into vans to be sent to bases for check-ups have gone viral. People often don’t stay at their registered addresses, making it harder for the military to find them. “Those who try to avoid mobilization are about 1-5%. They are definitely not critical to the defense of Ukraine,” said Fedir Venislavskyi to the BBC in November, when he was the president's parliamentary representative. Western observers have said that one of Ukraine's major issues is its ability to find more men for the war effort, as the Russian population is around 3.5 times larger than Ukraine. Recently, General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, head of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, wrote an Op-Ed in The Economist, arguing that Ukraine needs more men at the frontline. “Our capacity to train reserves on our own territory is also limited… We cannot easily spare soldiers who are deployed to the front, (and) Russia can strike training centers. And there are gaps in our legislation that allow citizens to evade their responsibilities,” he said. As of now, no Ukrainian man between 18 and 60 can leave Ukraine. Men between 27 and 60 can be mobilized to the army, while men between 18 and 26 can only join voluntarily. Volodymyr Zelensky is considering lowering the mobilization age to 25.
Anonymous
Quoted By:
The Ukrainian parliament is also considering other legislative changes to increase the number of people eligible for military service. Among other things, people are now only categorized as either fit or unfit for service. Previously, people could be “partly suitable,” such as those with minor health issues like asthma. These proposed changes are making men, who were previously only partly suitable, worried about their future. In December, the Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov told DW that all Ukrainian men between 25 and 60, living abroad will be asked to report for service. According to the European statistics agency Eurostat, 19.9 percent of the 4.2 million Ukrainians who have received temporary protection status in the European Union since the invasion are men. “We are still discussing what should happen if they don’t come voluntarily,” said Umerov. New System The criticism of the mobilization systems comes from various parts of Ukrainian society. Some argue that Ukraine should introduce a lottery system, where people are drafted depending on their birthday. Others say that Ukraine should only mobilize people not vital to the Ukrainian war effort. Recently, on Facebook, a Ukrainian officer named Yuriy Kasyanov criticized what he calls an inefficient system. He fears that Ukraine might lose the war if something isn’t changed to make the system more fair and increase the number of men willing to serve in the army. “The first thing I can say is that the situation is awful at the frontline. Very bad, and I know it very well. Maybe this is not so visible in the rear. Still, we are holding on with all our strength,” Kasyanov, a drone expert in the army, told The Daily Beast, “The most important thing is that, finally, euphoria and blindness are beginning to subside in society. We understand, including commanders and government officials, that something needs to be done.”
Anonymous
Quoted By:
Trust Eroded The Daily Beast also spoke to a 28-year-old man who only wants to be identified by his first name, Andriy. He left Ukraine in 2023 and is now in Europe. He crossed the border legally due to his mother's disability, which enabling him to go as her guardian. Andriy told The Daily Beast that he and his mother decided to use this loophole to avoid being drafted into the army and risking his life at the frontline. Andriy has health issues, making him exempt from military duty in peacetime, but he cannot trust that it will shield him now during the invasion if he gets picked up on the streets. “I just decided not to leave it to chance. Not to believe that I would be let go if the military picked me up on the streets because I will not survive on the frontline,” says Andriy, who is trying to live an anonymous life abroad so as not to attract too much attention. He says that the stories he heard from the frontline affected his decision. He might be able to help the military in functions away from the frontline, but he doesn’t trust the system. “All this new legislation makes mobilization stricter and stricter. The opportunity today might not be there tomorrow,” says Andriy, “I have a responsibility to care for my mother and myself. I did not want to be taken, and I have a lot of friends who feel the same.” “I will not come back until after the war. If I have to pay some fine for avoiding mobilization after the war, it will be okay, and I will pay it, but if there is a criminal case and I need to do real-time in jail, I will not come back,” says Andriy.
Anonymous
>>1259268 who needs conscription when they can buy off the shelf drones from
Bestbuy.com and equip them with US munitions?
>>1259255 are you calling me a clown, do i amuse you?
are you calling me a clown, do i amuse you? Mon 22 Jan 2024 03:30:40 No. 1259275 Report Quoted By:
>>1259268 Zelenksy Grozny, Grand Prince of Kyiv, a new Ivan the Terrible, is more Russian than Putin
Anonymous
>>1259274 >who needs conscription when they can buy off the shelf drones from Bestbuy.com and equip them with US munitions? Killer idea.
Maybe you should tell this to Zelensky and co., because they apparently think they need to conscript half a million geezers
Anonymous
Quoted By:
>>1259276 you don't seem to understand it's been happening for a year now