A recent event led me to fact check something that I thought must be untrue, which is that Ukraine conscripts people into the military against their will, including making those people that had previously fulfilled their obligations return to the battlefield.

Moreso, when browsing X recently I saw bunch of videos being posted of what claimed were police forcing people into vans to go fight in Ukraine. The police were beating these people in the process. Now, it is possible that some of this content is propaganda, but I did want to find out if Ukraine forces conscription.

It appears that it is true:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscription_in_Ukraine

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/lacking-manpower-ukraine-resorts-to-harsh-means-to-force-draft-dodgers-into-combat

I am very much against conscription. I still support Ukraine’s independence, but the fact that they are forcing people to fight through beatings, arrests, etc. is sickening to me and makes me lose respect for Zelensky. According to an estimate by Ukrainian commanders, 50% to 70% of Ukrainian conscripts are killed or wounded in their first few days in combat on some areas of the front.

What are others thoughts on this?

  • Stovetop@lemmy.world
    2·
    1 day ago

    You know, I can fuck with this to an extent.

    I think folks should always have the right to refuse, but I think some sort of national service obligation in exchange for education assistance could be beneficial.

    In the US, there is currently a federal loan program for college students, where the government fronts some or all of the cost to attend college and you pay it back later. The government also has debt forgiveness programs if you later go to work for a non-profit or public office and make consistent repayments for a number of years, but that is unreliable, requires a set number of conditions to be met, and usually takes a long time.

    The US military has programs where they will pay for all of your college education if you enlist, but not everyone is comfortable going into the military and that comes with its own obvious risks.

    In lieu of the loan system, if there was a similar program for agreeing to work as a public servant for X number of years in exchange for free school, it could be appealing. It would be a decent resume builder for participants to have a stable job and income during their period of service after they finish school while they have time to look for a long-term career once their service is finished, and they wouldn’t have to stress about trying to land a forgiveness-qualifying job that they need to stay at for 10 years or more while also never missing a payment on their interest-accruing loan.

    • mojofrododojo@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      1 day ago

      I think folks should always have the right to refuse,

      mos def. the trick is to make it fun and part of the transition to adulthood, so they want to serve.

      In lieu of the loan system, if there was a similar program for agreeing to work as a public servant for X number of years in exchange for free school, it could be appealing.

      in addition to schooling, give them access to home loans too. make it possible for people to own houses again.

      crazy dreams right?