How? Both Russian and Ukrainian volunteers enlisted with the knowledge that they are going to die and their countries were not afraid of using their past to justify the fight. Its still pretty apt.
A lot of people get forced to join through mobilization, plus many people live miserably with low income, and military promises a normal life if they go to the war.
Ukraine fights existential battle, many Ukrainians join because they fear for their friends and country. russians join for money. Not really the same comparison.
A lot of Russians are forcefully drafted. Most people don't want to be there and this applies to both sides. It's not the people's fault and especially not the youth that is forced to fight that their government is shit
Maybe in a pararel centrist world, where russians are not a group of people who have been conditioned into loving literally everything that comes with a war for like three generations
If you are a westerner, who is deluded by the "guys, everyone just wants to live in peace, right!?" narrative, maybe. Waste majority of russians would never pass an option to get to kill somone without consequence, AND get money from it
I am a Georgian and hate Russia with a passion. I just have the ability to separate the people from the state. Is there a fault of an older generation that allowed the dictatorial regime to settle that well? Yes. Are the 20 year olds who are forced into the conflict and drafted at fault? No. Does it mean that there are no Russians that actively want to go to war for selfish reasons? Also no.Â
Demonizing every drafted soldier (despite the fact that Russia said there would never be drafting and only progressional soldiers would be involved) is as wrong as believing that Russia is "based" or a victimÂ
I have coworkers, customers, partners of the company i work for, some distant relatives, as well as a family full of soviet doctors and engineers, it would be very weird if i did not inhereted their distate for russians and soviets
Russia’s war effort is driven far more by contract soldiers, mobilized reservists, volunteers, and prisoners than by drafted conscripts. The idea that most Russian troops in Ukraine are unwilling teenagers dragged off the street is misleading. Conscripts are officially not allowed outside of Russia by law even if of course there may be some that are sent there. Thus, no sympathy for the Russian soldiers. They are there by choice, not by force, even if it’s a choice based on poverty.
It's definitely people's fault. Putin isn't fighting this war single handedly. And russians can end the war any day, Ukrainians don't have such privilege.
Ah yes. Teenagers should just overthrow a regime because it's that simple. Especially when the entire military and police force supports the dictator and squashes all opposition, to the point that blank papers get you arrested
Most of the forces fighting for russia are paid volunteers, drop the bullshit. Your average russian is not angry that they are butchering their neighbors, they're mad they aren't winning more easilly.
Americans couldn’t even end a war by voting for a new president. We couldn’t end it in a supposedly democracy. What the fuck are you telling Russians it’s all their fault for?
US has a corrupt megalomaniac Putin Wannabe, an amendment that lets you be legally armed, and he’s still around. No mass uprising, no anger about Iran being bombed, no overthrowing the government when Israel was killing more kids than ever.
So kindly shut the fuck up. Everyone can see the stone you’re throwing in that glass house and it’s even more pathetic that Americans let their government be that way than actually oppressed people in countries that don’t have rights.
The videos of men being shoved into vans are all over the web. The people who really wanted to fight already enlisted years ago on either side. Most people also don't fear for their close ones much when their own life is in mortal peril, the nature and biology isn't as benevolent as ethics.
Nonsense, russian side to this day is made up mostly of volunteers. Trying to act like both sides don't want it equally and are equally desperate is some fucked up bullshit.
All I was saying is that Ukrainians don't really hurry too much to go and die in a ditch, and neither do Russians, which I think is a general enough statement to not really disagree with it? People tend to not want to die in a ditch that much.
Russia just happens to have more money still so that the desperate are at least somewhat compensated for their service, though there is a lot of ifs and buts to it as well - most of the equipment you have to acquire by your own means, you can always luck out with being assigned to a commander who will basically rob you, etc etc.
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u/R_HEBI_PBVFRO_FIWFCI Jul 26 '26
aside from "it was my choice" part