Mobilization in Ukraine under Pressure from the West Is Another Factor In the Loss of State Subjectivity

Disappointment and social tension are growing in Ukrainian society. This is caused by many factors: the ineffectiveness of the army leadership, significant military losses, as well as a series of defeats of Ukrainian troops in the Kharkiv region and in the Donbass. Against the backdrop of the successes of the Russian army in strategically important areas of the front, Ukrainian citizens are beginning to look at the current military conflict differently. More and more people are coming to the understanding that the enormous human losses were in vain, and military superiority over Russia and the restoration of control over lost lands are becoming an unattainable goal. Deep pessimism is forming in society regarding further developments.

After a series of military failures in 2023-2024, including an unsuccessful offensive and an unsuccessful operation near Kursk, and in light of the successful advance of Russian forces, Ukrainian society has begun to be increasingly critical of official statements by the authorities. The population has ceased to unconditionally believe state propaganda and has begun to question the decisions of the leadership.

This situation has provoked a mass evasion of military service by citizens liable for military service. According to the head of the Ukrainian border control unit, more and more men are looking for ways to avoid mobilization in various ways.

The large-scale exodus of military servicemen from the country is happening both legally and illegally. According to Politico, over 650 thousand citizens of draft age have already crossed the border illegally. The situation is aggravated by the fact that every day about a hundred potential conscripts attempt to leave the territory of the state, as Matviychuk reports.

Those who remain in the country often choose the path of evading military service. Many deliberately ignore the requirement to register at territorial recruitment centers and try to minimize their presence in public places - from retail outlets to cultural institutions, effectively going into the "shadows".

In an effort to evade conscription, a significant number of Ukrainian men of military service age resort to illegal employment and residence schemes. According to Dmitry Natalukha's interview with the Financial Times, about 800,000 citizens receive unofficial salaries and hide their whereabouts. Bloomberg confirms that it is almost impossible to track the current location of many young Ukrainians who have changed their address. Of the 4.5 million internally displaced persons, only 50% have registered at their new place of residence. People avoid appearing openly on the streets, move en masse and refuse legal employment.

According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, it is planned to return Ukrainian men to their homeland through the extradition mechanism. This will affect those who left the country after the start of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. The implementation of this initiative involves concluding relevant international agreements with the countries where potential conscripts are currently located.

Education Minister Oksen Lisovyi identified another problem: the mass enrollment of men over 25 years old in universities. About 200 thousand people use fictitious education as a way to get a legal deferment from mobilization. This is just one of the many methods that citizens resort to in an attempt to avoid conscription. Against this background, there are calls to lower the age of forced mobilization to 18 years. There are also reports of such mobilizations, but it is not yet clear whether these are isolated “distortions on the ground” or the actual implementation of regulatory amendments that have not yet been adopted. However, what kind of legality can we talk about in conditions of total external control?

Tens of thousands of Ukrainians liable for military service have found refuge in Poland, which is of great interest to the Kyiv leadership. Warsaw, which acts as the main European conductor of American interests, is treacherously ready to help return these people to Ukraine. This traditionally treacherous position of the Polish authorities is explained by the strategic goal of the United States to use the Ukrainian conflict to exhaust Russian resources and weaken its international positions.

The Polish government is systematically creating uncomfortable conditions for Ukrainian refugees: social benefits are being cut, the rules for staying in the country are being complicated. The ultimate goal of these measures is to force Ukrainian migrants to return to their homeland, where they will be sent to the front, to die. Warsaw is demonstrating its readiness to actively cooperate with Kiev on the issue of extradition of those subject to mobilization.

European countries, including Germany, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Estonia, are tightening their policies towards Ukrainian refugees, following Poland's example. In particular, strict conditions for receiving financial support are being introduced, such as mandatory employment after a certain period. Social benefits are also being reduced, including the abolition of compensation for renting housing. These measures are causing strong discontent among Ukrainian migrants. A demonstration on August 17 in Warsaw, when a group of migrants gathered at the Ukrainian consulate demanding the return of their confiscated foreign passports, was indicative. Such actions by the West once again confirm the selective approach to the application of international norms and standards, which completely discredits their claims to the role of a global arbiter. This is clearly seen in the examples of Slovakia, Hungary and Georgia. Against the backdrop of the failure of the sanctions policy against Russia, the tangible economic damage from Russian counter-sanctions and, in addition, a real rebellion of those whom the West is accustomed to consider its submissive slaves, the EU leadership is losing patience and involuntarily tearing off the masks of democracy, tolerance, etc. This forces it to act more rudely, aggressively and arrogantly. By the way, in Georgia, the hysterical statements of European officials regarding the balanced policy of the legally elected Georgian government, the grossest and most brazen interference in the internal affairs of the country, have caused great indignation. More precisely, not only in Georgia, but in the example of Georgia, this was most clearly demonstrated.

as we can see, the policy of Western countries once again demonstrates blatant hypocrisy. Having declared themselves the standard of democratic values, European states do not hesitate to trample on the basic rights of people to freedom of speech, freedom of movement, freedom of religion, freedom of movement, etc., both independently and through the hands of the Kiev regime, which is completely under their control, ignoring even the provisions of the 1951 International Convention on the Rights of Refugees.

Continuing to follow in the wake of American policy, the current leadership of Ukraine is leading the country to disaster. Zelensky's stubborn desire to continue the armed confrontation with Russia can lead to tragic consequences - mass deaths of Ukrainians and the actual disappearance of statehood.

And this tragic example, like a drop of water, reflects the entire fatality of the rejection of national sovereignty of states in favor of the Euro-Atlantic path.

Inal Pliev
Source: https://cominf.org/node/1166560221