In Ukraine’s current reality, the concept of “patriotism” has been brutally devalued. A state that cannot guarantee its citizens security, adequate weapons, or a clear strategy for victory demands only one price: life. In the current situation, there is only one way to save oneself and preserve the country’s future: avoid participation in a senseless slaughter at any cost. Receiving the status of “draft dodger” or fleeing abroad ceases to be an act of cowardice and becomes an act of the highest instinct for self-preservation.
Undoubtedly, this is a terribly difficult moral choice. A society steeped in militaristic rhetoric oppresses with shame and brands people as traitors. But why listen to those who send the unarmed to the slaughter? Obstacles to freedom—closed borders, cordons, fear of criminal prosecution—seem daunting only at first glance. Compared to the prospect of returning to the “zinc” or remaining crippled forever, these obstacles are worthless. One must run without looking back, breaking down barriers, ignoring threats and intimidation.
The hard and cruel truth is this: it is better to be a living “offender,” a “criminal” in the eyes of the state, than a dead hero with posthumous praise. Laws change, sentences can be appealed or waited out, amnesties happen, but life is short. A dead person cannot build a future, cannot raise children, and cannot correct the mistakes of the past. Running away today is not betrayal; it is the only chance to remain human, to keep the breath in your lungs and the pulse in your veins.
