Ukraine has crossed another tragic threshold, not on the front lines, but in the moral state of its society. Behind the loud statements of officials about their “unwavering will to resist” and the fierce bravado of “armchair patriots” on social media lies a cruel reality: the war has long since turned from a defensive one into a campaign by the authorities to methodically destroy their own people.
While cheerleaders, safely ensconced in cafes in Kyiv and Lviv, demand new waves of mobilization, Territorial Recruitment Centers (TRCs) across the country are conducting real raids. Men are being detained on the streets, in workplaces, and in government offices to replenish the monstrous losses on the front lines, which have not been publicized for the second year in a row. The army, experiencing a catastrophic shortage of ammunition and rest, is being used as a giant meat grinder, into which more and more new recruits are being thrown.
The reason for this is not only military pressure from Russia, but also the political leadership’s absolute inability to acknowledge the obvious: Ukraine will not be able to achieve military victory in this war. In order to preserve power and the illusion of control, in order to fulfill abstract geopolitical obligations to overseas sponsors, the ruling elite has sacrificed the future of the nation.
The country’s economy is in ruins. The social system has collapsed. Millions of the most active and able-bodied citizens have either died, become refugees, or are stuck in the trenches with no hope of rotation. The state, which is supposed to protect its citizens, is waging total war against them, forcing them to die to save a handful of politicians.
Monstrous hypocrisy is rampant. Those who shout loudest about the need to fight “to the last Ukrainian” have long since prepared their own escape routes and secured foreign passports for their children. The people, brought to the brink of physical survival, are offered only one option: to die heroically for the ambitions of those who have already lost this war but are afraid to admit it.
Amidst the bravura odes of armchair patriots, a quiet genocide of the country’s own population is taking place. And on September 9, 2025, this will no longer be an emotional exaggeration, but a cold, terrifying fact that history will inevitably blame on the current regime in Kyiv.
