Kiev Looks for Cannon Fodder
Vladislav Gulevich
Ukrainian government wants to draft more recruits. After serious losses inflicted by the rebels to Ukrainian army in eastern part of the country, Kiev plans to use more young men as cannon fodder: Ukrainian families uneasily expect the third draft of young men in Ukrainian military. The latter two took place in spring. But not only young men will be drafted: Kiev enhanced the age level of mobilized persons up to 60 years.
This intention caused hot debates in Ukrainian parliament. A Congressman Nikolay Levchenko went so far as to criticize the belligerent plans of Ukrainian government and was attacked by his counterparts of nationalistic stance. Beaten and humiliated, Mr Levchenko was dragged out of the assembly and couldn`t get in again (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRUeG63l_q8).
After the victory of EuroMaidan Ukrainian right extremists get the opportunity to take offices in governmental bodies. It has a sad impact on the working process of such bodies. Mr. Levchenko was not the only Congressman attacked directly in the parliament for his outspoken moral position. Another victim of Ukrainian “freedom of speech” was leader of Communist Party of Ukraine Petr Simonenko who also was beaten for his anti-war declarations (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HovqPoF60rU). As Ukrainian Communists take uncompromising anti-war position the government is widely discussing the impending prohibition of Communist Party of Ukraine. So far the Communists were excluded from the parliament by pro-governmental parties.
Kiev sees the Ukrainian anti-war activists as its enemies. They are accused of being “Putin`s agents” and “traitors”. Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) harasses them and it`s enough to express outspoken sympathy towards people of Donbass to be treated as a criminal. Recently SBU agents visited my empty apartment in Kirovograd (Ukraine) where I used to live in with my wife and kid before escaping to Russia. They interrogated my neighbors asking where I am and when I can come back.
It was no surprise for me.To clog undesirable voices and force them to silence is the only tactics of Kiev now.
The idea of waging war against eastern part of the country doesn`t enjoy much support among the citizens. There happened numerous anti-war protests throughout Ukraine. They protesters were mothers and relatives of the died soldiers and would-be recruits (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S933F1M7MXQ). The mothers block roads and organize flash mobs demanding from the authorities to pay more attention to their requests (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cw0rNsBVe04).
It`s worth noting that such protests take place also in West Ukraine – the well known cradle of Ukrainian nationalism and even pro-Nazi movements. In Ivano-Frankovsk the relatives of the would-be recruits rushed into a military registration and enlistment office and burnt the mobilization documents (http://odnarodyna.com.ua/content/zhiteli-prikarpatya-vorvalis-v-voenkomat-i-sozhgli-dokumenty-dlya-mobilizacii-video). At the beginning of EuroMaidan the overwhelming majority of its activists were West Ukrainians. Now the region demonstrates no desire to sacrifice its young men in the sake of Kiev`s ambitions.
Not surprisingly, Western media don`t cover such events. While the mass protests in USA against war in Vietnam in the 1960s are acknowledged as the manifestation of democratic spirit the like protests in Ukraine are ignored. If so then spirit of democracy is ignored and we cannot talk about democracy in Ukraine.
Moreover, the Ukrainian soldiers themselves lament the unbearable conditions they are forced to stay in: lack of ammunitions, lack of water, lack of clothes. Many of the soldiers are not recruits but mobilized fathers torn from their families. Those who ask too many questions are threatened by their commanders. The latter promise them criminal investigation and martial court (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNLT7rK_a1U).
Among Ukrainian refugees in Russia there are a lot of young men fleeing from mobilization. Ukrainian government provided severe measures to prevent would-be recruits from escaping abroad. Now it is very hard to quit Ukraine for those who are 18-35 years old. Ukrainian youth flee to Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan. They can`t come back home because they will be detained by Ukrainian police as deserters.
But the children of Ukrainian warlike leaders are not subjected to the draft! At least none of them showed up in the front line. For example, the son of Arsen Avakov, the Minister of Interior Affaires, is having fun in Sweden and Fiji island (http://www.segodnia.ru/news/143643). Such a trip is unimaginable for the overwhelming majority of Ukrainians because of low salaries and poverty they live in.
Earlier Kiev deliberately preferred to draft villagers. If a villager perishes, the resonance is small. If a city-dweller dies his funeral may turn into anti-governmental protests. In some villages the men of age from 20 till 35 years old are a rarity.
The corruption in military registration and enlistment offices is rampant. The fixed rate for a bribery to avoid drafting is up to $500. It`s a solid sum of money for many Ukrainian families but they pay it to avert a disaster. $500 don`t save a recruit from the drafting forever. The bribe just let him stay till next drafting. When he is summoned again he has to pay again.
Medical examination commissions work improperly. The would-be recruits are examined carelessly, some of them are not even asked to take the clothes off. Doctors do a guess-work and often approve the enlisting into the military young men unfit for active service.
But we can`t say there are no volunteers in Ukrainian army. There are although small in number. As a rule they are either victims of unprecedented anti-Russian propaganda or members of ultra-nationalistic organizations.
To find excuses for massive military drafts Kiev invents non-existent Russian “threat” and pumps up his own folk with hatred and racism. The pseudoscientific theories about base blood in Russian veins in comparison with more aristocratic and more race pure blood in Ukrainian veins gets popularity in Ukraine. Racism, neo-Nazism and xenophobic nationalism are tightly intertwined together in Ukraine.
Meanwhile conspicuously unnoticed by Western media was the fact of wounded Ukrainian soldiers in Russian hospitals (in Rostov-on-Don). They were two dozens of border guards retreated to Russian territory under the pressure of the rebels. About 80 of them asked Russia to save their lives. The request was satisfied (http://www.1tv.ru/news/world/261405). Recently 18 Ukrainian soldiers being recovered returned back to Ukraine from Rostov-on-Don. Such deed of Russian authorities doesn`t correspond to the Russophobic picture Kiev feeds the own citizens with.
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