It’s hard for anyone to make sense of the Ukrainian president’s latest military reforms.
  • FlakesBongler [they/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
    54·
    5 days ago

    One protester, who asked that his name not be used, said he knew that discipline in the armed forces was an issue but that long sentences without independent legal review went too far and was not in the spirit of Ukraine’s citizen army. On the contrary, this is the way Russia treats military personnel.

    What are we, a bunch of Asians?

    The fear of many Ukrainians is that young men between 18 and 22 will now flee in large numbers, leaving the armed forces come 2027 with too few new recruits – and Ukraine, a country with severe demographic deficiencies, with too few people when the war ends. One 25-year-old woman told me that in her brother’s cohort of friends ages 18 to 22, most of them were planning to leave the country. She said the new law was wrongheaded and would hurt the war effort.

    Some of you will die, but that's a risk I'm willing to take

    The obvious conclusion is that Zelensky needs new counsel. Ukraine’s world of think tanks, consultants, foundations, and civic organizations burnish a wealth of knowledge and experience, much of which they have accrued over the past six years. Zelensky should draw on this rich cache to renew his advisors and reconnect to the Ukrainian public while it still believes in him.

    Yes, let’s all listen to the Nazis, that’s going swimmingly right now

    • darkcalling [comrade/them, she/her]@hexbear.netEnglish
      16·
      5 days ago

      The fear of many Ukrainians is that young men between 18 and 22 will now flee in large numbers, leaving the armed forces come 2027 with too few new recruits – and Ukraine, a country with severe demographic deficiencies, with too few people when the war ends. One 25-year-old woman told me that in her brother’s cohort of friends ages 18 to 22, most of them were planning to leave the country. She said the new law was wrongheaded and would hurt the war effort.

      I honestly wonder if this wasn’t a deliberate decision to try and save lives. Maybe I’m reading too much into it but might Zelensky or some Nazi in his government realize by now the west’s plans to demographically destroy them in order to kill Russians and be trying to save some of their next generation with moves like this as they can’t stop until they run out of people in the west’s eyes but if they send most abroad they’ll have something. Maybe even cynically deliberate now that they’ve press-ganged central and eastern Ukrainians who were more likely to support Russia, an attempt to get western more nationalist and Nazi friendly Ukrainians spared from the meat grinder on the front.

      • Awoo [she/her]@hexbear.netEnglish
        10·
        5 days ago

        They’ve acted from the very start with the view that they need to protect a next generation. I’m with you that they’re trying to prevent the 18-26 age group from being killed. They view them as the future of Ukraine’s very existence.

        What we should expect from this however is that it will be a very new Ukraine, totally 100% educated by fascism. My expectation is for new Ukrainians to behave and think much like Israelis.

  • Owl [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
    48·
    5 days ago

    Dude should’ve retired and foisted the mess he made on a successor back when all the libs still remembered who he was. Could’ve moved to the US and been a rich D-list celebrity.

    • cfgaussian@lemmygrad.mlEnglish
      49·
      5 days ago

      It may surprise you to learn that once upon a time Zelensky used to advocate for peace with the Donbass separatists, defend the use of the Russian language, and make fun of Ukrainian nationalists.

      Then he got elected, the Nazis threatened to kill him if he tried to make peace, and he found that he could embezzle millions upon millions of dollars by playing the role of anti-Russia puppet the West wanted him to.