It seems that now it has become clear to everyone that Russian aggression against Ukraine will last for a long time, if not forever. That is, the well-known fate of Israel awaits us. And you won't be able to avoid it.
It should also finally become clear that this is a war to destroy not only everything Ukrainian, but also Ukrainians as such - and this is not a metaphor, but in the literal sense of the word. At least everyone who is more or less sane will simply be destroyed. Look at how many Ukrainians and Ukrainians remain in the territories occupied for nine years now, and you will understand everything.
Conclusion - the struggle will be merciless and constant. Otherwise - death.
How can this be avoided as much as possible?
Deaths cannot be avoided. Our losses are a bloody price to pay for the fact that we are killed in hundreds or thousands, not millions. Yes, yes - in millions, like in 1933. Today we are paying for thirty years of illusion and thoughtlessness.
Therefore, I am very saddened by the extremely harmful mobilization campaign. As for me, this is a combination of a super-effective Russian information-psychological operation and our stupidity. And also the fear of those who only care about their ratings. I no longer have the strength to look at the smearing of this topic by gentle creatures who have had and will not have anything to do with the war, or with any army, or with mobilization.
Also upsetting is the mass persecution of often quite severe, but war is war, workers of territorial recruitment and social support centers - people try to do the work that each of us needs, from babies to older people. Someone must stand as a barrier against rapists and murderers. It's time to stop this arrogant bullying. Put yourself in their shoes and you will understand a lot.
Mobilization is not a whim, but a necessity.
Mobilization is an element of the social contract and the status of citizen. A citizen must pay his debt (not a whim) as a citizen - because these are the tragic circumstances of being a citizen of the state of Ukraine.
However, not everyone is able to drop everything and go to the front without any words. I am not capable for various reasons - I am talking about objective reasons, not malingering ones.
Not everyone is capable of killing - yes, yes, killing other people, because this is the work of a warrior at the front.
At the same time, not everyone is needed at the front.
Some will simply be an unnecessary burden due to age, or illness, or simple uselessness.
And some will be much more useful for the defense of the country in the so-called “rear”, although in a situation of war there is actually no need to destroy the rear - these are our illusions to which we desperately cling. Well, you can mobilize missile or drone developers into the infantry. But why? You can take all the energy workers to the front. But who will repair the power lines? It’s possible, but why hammer nails with a microscope...
I understand that the “Mobilization Law” will be adopted any day now. I also understand that it is almost impossible to reach those who form it, because most of those who find themselves under the glass dome of the Verkhovna Rada immediately sincerely consider themselves Newtons.
Therefore, I think that this Law will need to be supplemented with the “Law on Alternative Service and Alternative Defense Assistance.”
For some reason, we hardly hear about alternative services and assistance.
What can it boil down to and who does it concern?
I'll just give a few examples:
Considering that we will be increasingly forced to develop our own military production, we will increasingly need labor resources mobilized into the military industry. I think that mobilization for military enterprises can well be interpreted as an alternative military service - a kind of labor front. However, honestly, and not in order to then mobilize these employees directly to the front. So that this mobilization is equated to alternative military service with all the social obligations of the state. And all these employees must have the status of an employee with all that comes from it.
It would also be reasonable to organize the construction of a kind of Mannerheim line (starting from Shatsk to Sumy, and then parallel to the front line to Kherson and Reni - several thousand kilometers), and this is a huge job that requires enormous human resources.
Another type of alternative military service is the engineering and fortification troops (not to be confused with the engineering troops that are in the Armed Forces of Ukraine). However, again, honestly, and not in order to then mobilize these employees directly to the front. So that this mobilization is equated to alternative military service with all the social obligations of the state. And all these employees must have the status of an employee with all that comes from it.
We will have no less problems with the medical sphere and rehabilitation and social services for thousands of wounded soldiers. Civilian social services will not cope. Another type of alternative military service is alternative medical and social service. However, again, honestly, and not in order to then mobilize these employees directly to the front. So that this mobilization is equated to alternative military service with all the social obligations of the state. And all these employees must have the status of an employee with all that comes from it.
If the war is long, then we must raise warriors, not washed-out metrosexuals. And this education begins from primary school, secondary school, and vocational schools. The problem here is that the corps of teachers, and mostly they are worthy senior women, are not at all focused on fulfilling this task. In general, given the “low prestige” of wages, this area is left to the mercy of fate.
Therefore, it is extremely necessary to fill this area with young teachers, and this service in education can also be reformatted as an alternative educational and pedagogical military service. And we are not talking about “sitting out” for several months, but about a long-term binding contract.
However, again honestly, and not in order to then mobilize these employees directly to the front. So that this mobilization is equated to alternative military service with all the social obligations of the state. And all these employees must have the status of an employee with all that comes from it.
And the next thing is that hundreds of thousands of men of military age, both due to circumstances (this happened) and deliberately evading mobilization, went abroad or ended up abroad. What to do with them? Because the time will come (or not) and they will want to return and be “amnestied”. Will we punish them for evasion? Will we not be allowed into the territory of Ukraine with expired and invalid passports? Thus, we will stimulate their eventual emigration, which we do not need at all. Or maybe it's better to give it a chance? How?
For example, by voluntary payment of a certain worthy compensation amount to the budget of Ukraine. After all, even working abroad, they pay tax, at best, to the budget of the host country, but not to the budget of Ukraine.
Payments can be made without crossing the border (because many are afraid to return), possibly together with the issuance of a renewed passport at our diplomatic institutions. Perhaps other forms of “compensation” can be found that can be credited to these individuals located abroad - for example, given the volume of their volunteer assistance to the front, why not. However, again, honestly, and not with monthly changes in legislation.
And lastly, the most controversial. Again about the funds that Ukraine so lacks. Perhaps the monthly voluntary payment of a truly significant amount, despite mandatory taxation, could become a basis for booking the person who pays it.
I understand that this is perceived (and in the end, is) an acute social injustice: “the rich will pay off” - but its severity is removed by the realization that this money will reduce the loss of the most valuable thing - human life at the front... Such harsh realities that we we created for ourselves over the past thirty years - now we are redeeming it. The poor wanted to get rich overnight and do nothing, just vote for the cheese in the mouse trap, for the communists, for the regionals, for..., for... - so they must somehow get out of this.
I think that the introduction of these standards could greatly strengthen our defense capabilities and at the same time greatly reduce tension in society. On the other hand, the situation with mobilization would become more honest and free of corruption.
With pre-listed corps of alternative military services, we would become a much more efficient, much more resistant to external aggression modern society. And we urgently need this, because there is no end to the war in sight. How our thousand-year-old confrontation with Russia will not be visible. And, judging by the change in the mood of our fellow travelers in the fight against Russia, we must reorient ourselves to rely on our own strengths. We are not a small state. We are a huge and, as it turns out, powerful state in every sense. They are afraid of us, that’s why all sorts of political pygmies play childish games of blocking funding and borders. Therefore, they are afraid of our social and militaristic power.
I am convinced that there are enough soldiers in our society who are ready to go to the front no matter what. Moreover, if we create an army that will have as its goal not only Victory, but also the survival of all soldiers and officers without exception. But this is the subject of another article.
Concluding the list of these proposals, I would like to remind you once again that alternative military service should be legalized by a separate Law “On Alternative Service and Alternative Defense Assistance” because the Law “On Mobilization” seems to have already begun.
And finally, I sincerely thank you for the smart thoughts that prompted me to write down these – perhaps unsystematic, but, as for me, relevant – thoughts of Igor Yukhnovsky, Taras Stetskiv, Yaroslav Mandruk, Andrey Guliy.
