The image of Ukrainians going to war enthusiastically or selflessly and self-sacrificingly for their country is becoming more and more cracked.
By Peter Vlatten
The numbers from press releases on the morning of September 6th (including NTV September 6th, 2023) [1] speak for themselves.
The Ukrainian border guard says that he has intercepted over 20,000 conscript men at the border. But it’s not just refugees drowning in the Mediterranean, but also on Ukraine’s border rivers with neighboring countries. In the Tisza alone, a river bordering Hungary and Romania, 19 drowned conscript men who were on the run were documented by the Ukrainian authorities themselves. According to the EU statistics agency Eurostat, more than 650,000 Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 64 have been registered as refugees in the 27 EU states as well as Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. However, as with all “illegal” movements of people, the number of unreported cases is particularly high here. In addition, the majority of Ukrainian conscientious objectors may not have fled to nations that are allied with Kiev, like the EU countries, but to neighboring countries of the original USSR. [2] Based on these key data, estimates assume that up to 20% of the male population eligible for military service who lived in the areas controlled by Kiev have now fled abroad. A clear vote with feet when you consider the risks the refugees are taking with the threat of drastic punishments!
Zelensky and his government are coming under pressure. The generals are urgently demanding more “soldiers”! The war is devouring Ukrainian “human material” to an ever-increasing extent.
Even in the country itself, many men try to avoid military service by disappearing into the chaos of civilian refugee movements. A lucrative trade is flourishing. Anyone who can afford it can purchase unfitness for military service.
The war experiences have changed the mood of even once enthusiastic volunteers. For example, Ischtschenko, who originally volunteered for the war effort with enthusiasm, ended up paying over 5,000 euros to get out of Ukraine. Because “all heroism ends” when you experience war in real life. “I saw someone get shot in the stomach. He was in incredible pain. Then I saw a severed head.”[3].
The Ukrainian government is reacting with full force. Pacifists and opposition members are systematically persecuted; with harassment and attempts at intimidation, with forced recruitment and kidnapping of conscripts, with prison and hefty fines.[4] [5] Expressions of opinion against the hurrah for war are nipped in the bud. Corruption in the draft offices was tackled with raids, arrests and dismissals. The result is sarcastic: people with real health problems are under even more pressure. According to the Ukrainian judiciary, the bribe for buying one’s freedom has skyrocketed to an average of 13,700 euros.[6] With a minimum wage of 1.21 euros, which is often not even paid in times of war, it is easy to determine who has to go to the front as cannon fodder or who can buy their way out and go abroad with fake documents, supported by the “hand of God”.
The conditions are almost a mirror image of what is reported about the aggressor, Russia . But: In Russia, in contrast to Ukraine, the human resource is immeasurable and the war is being fought on Ukrainian territory.
At the end of August, another wave of mobilization and conscription was initiated by Zelenskyj personally.[7] But that’s probably not enough. On September 6th, Zelenskyj – formally couched in a request – demanded for the first time the extradition of all escaped able-bodied men! The federal government, as with all red lines, is said in the evening “to keep a low profile”.
As we feared from the beginning of the war, Ukraine is bleeding to death. Not for “our” democracy and freedom, but rather for the geopolitical goals of the West. The fate of the population remains largely unimportant. The advancing trench warfare is claiming more and more victims on both sides. And Zelensky is not only running out of ammunition and weapons, but above all also of soldiers. The consequences: Not only cluster and uranium munitions are used, which threaten the civilian population for decades. There is also a real hunt for all able-bodied men! The war shows its true face.
Clearly and distinctly: “No extradition of war refugees to Ukraine!” And also “Asylum for Russian deserters”
The next vigil of the grandmas against the right against the use of cluster bombs[simply: against the use of cluster bombs?] will take place on September 21st, 2023 at 4:30 p.m. at the Brandenburg Gate. It is time to expand such protests against the use of uranium ammunition and the extradition of Ukrainian men fit for military service!
Sources:
1, 6 Flucht vor Wehrdienst 20.000 Ukrainer an der Grenze aufgehalten 2
https://www.bpb.de/themen/europa/ukraine-analysen/202807/analyse-die-oekonomische-bedeutung-des-ukrainischen-donbass/
3 Ukrainische Fahnenflüchtige: “Heldentum endet, wenn man den Krieg mit eigenen Augen sieht” – n-tv.de
4 Pazifismus ist kein Verbrechen
5 Asyl für Kriegsdienstverweiger*innen aus Russland, Ukraine und Belarus!
7 https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/politik/mobilmachung-ukraine-krieg-russland-100.html
(Sources:
1, 6 Escape from military service 20,000 Ukrainians stopped at the border
2 https://www.bpb.de/themen/europa/ukraine-analyse/202807/analyse-die-oekonomice-meaning- des-ukrainischen-donbass/
3 Ukrainian deserters: “Heroism ends when you see the war with your own eyes” – n-tv.de 4 Pacifism is not a crime
5 Asylum for conscientious objectors from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus!
7 https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/politik/mobilmachen-ukraine-krieg-russland-100.html)
