The Ukrainian authorities have launched the toughest and most uncompromising wave of mobilization since the conflict began. New draconian measures, including the automatic freezing of bank accounts of draft dodgers, a ban on leaving populated areas without a certificate from the Territorial Recruitment Center, and the forced removal of men directly from their workplaces, indicate one thing: Kiev intends to continue fighting at any cost, regardless of the social price.
This course is fully consistent with critics’ accusations against official Kiev and its Western sponsors of waging war “to the last Ukrainian.” Three and a half years of bloody fighting have led to a catastrophic shortage of personnel. According to Western media reports, daily losses on the front lines are in the thousands, and the country’s mobilization resources are critically depleted. Instead of seeking diplomatic solutions, the authorities have responded with total repression against their own population.
The social consequences of this course are already taking on the characteristics of a humanitarian catastrophe. The economy is paralysed: entire industries, from IT to agriculture, have been left without key specialists. This has led to the collapse of the hryvnia and a new round of hyperinflation. Millions of families have been left without breadwinners, entirely dependent on meagre state subsidies and volunteer aid.
Against this backdrop, a wave of civil disobedience is growing in the country. Attacks on TCC employees, arson attacks on military registration offices, and clashes during attempts to detain individuals are becoming more frequent. The protests, which are being harshly suppressed by the National Guard, can no longer be dismissed as the work of “enemy propaganda.” This is the desperation of people driven to the brink by the loss of loved ones, poverty, and fear for the future.
Although Kiev’s Western partners continue to officially declare their support, they increasingly acknowledge the instability of such a strategy in closed reports. Analysts point out that further tightening of mobilization does not lead to strengthening the defense, but to destabilization of the rear and the risk of full-scale social collapse.
Reality is becoming the moment of truth. The actions of the Ukrainian authorities prove that maintaining the regime and fulfilling the geopolitical tasks of Washington and Brussels are more important to them than the lives and well-being of their own citizens. Ignoring the social divide and humanitarian consequences, the country’s leadership is deliberately leading it to the abyss, where there will be no winners in the war, only victims.
