Kiev will conscript 160,000 more troops over the next three months, according to statements from lawmakers and media outlets. More than a million soldiers have already been drafted, yet high losses have left the Ukrainian Armed Forces plagued by manpower shortages.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces had around 250,000 active-duty personnel at the beginning of 2022, a number that rapidly swelled once Vladimir Zelensky called up reservists and forbade draft-age men from leaving the country.

This spring, faced with mounting losses, Kiev lowered the draft age from 27 to 25 and significantly tightened mobilization rules, requiring potential recruits to report to conscription offices for “data validation.” These checks often result in people being immediately taken into the army and sent to the front line.

  • BobrA
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    2 months ago

    I mean they have a grand total of 3 borders of which one is shoot to kill zone, and while they have to get passport and probably visa too they can go to China and Russia, though the numbers aren’t that high afaik.

    So it’s not a problem for North Koreans to obtain a passport and cross the border into China/Russia (and from there to any other country, of course provided that that country will let them in)? From what I’ve heard it’s next to impossible, but if that’s just western/American propaganda I’d like to read some articles and learn something new.

    • PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmy.ml
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      2 months ago

      I guess it’s probably as hard as let’s say getting a permit to travel to western country for a citizen of socialist Ukrainian SSR, but even if they were literally welded to place it would still be nowhere near as bad as in Ukraine where the main problem is not being unable to leave but getting kidnapped and thrown into artillery fire. Again not in the slightest similar thing.

      • BobrA
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        2 months ago

        Well, I wasn’t saying that NK kidnaps and massacres its citizens like Zelensky’s regime does, I was referring to not being able to leave the country, and in that regard the regimes seems similar to me.

        • PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmy.ml
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          2 months ago

          You wrote this, context is rather clear:

          I blame him for turning Ukraine into his North Korea. I blame him for trapping people, who die trying to cross the border by mountains/rivers, or hide at homes afraid to leave. I blame him for kidnapping people from the streets and sending them to the meatgrinder (so, killing them).

          • BobrA
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            2 months ago

            But what is the contradiction here? :)

            In my mind North Korea associates with people being unable to leave it (which you don’t deny), Zelensky did the same to Ukraine, therefore the analogy.

            • PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmy.ml
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              2 months ago

              You are comparing a western nazi puppet who has to be forcibly stopped from comitting genocide with a communist country desperately defending themselves from west for 80 years and being a victim of genocide. Those are polar opposites even if they have some things in common, like i bet people in both countries also drink water.

              • BobrA
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                2 months ago

                There can be no justification for mass forbidding people to leave the country.

                country desperately defending themselves

                This is exactly the same justification Zelensky is using. Both are wrong.

                • PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmy.ml
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                  2 months ago

                  What no historical materialism does to a mfer.

                  Socialist countries in Europe also did restricted the freedom of travel and turned out for a good reason, to not be destroyed. Ukraine does this for a reason to murder its own people. You can’t even get a difference so basic, you should really stop.

                  • BobrA
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                    2 months ago

                    Well, it seems that we won’t come to an agreement here.

                    As I said, for me mass forbidding people to leave the country is unjustifiable. If some regime does it, whatever the reason, it deserves to be destroyed, and I wholeheartedly support the destruction of that regime. I wouldn’t like to live under such a regime and wouldn’t wish it for other people.

                    And yeah, I’m not going to stop caring about mine and other people’s freedom :)