Russia might win due to public attitudes in Ukraine toward military draft offices – Ground Forces Commander
That’s according to the Commander of Ukraine’s Ground Forces Lieutenant General Oleksandr Pavliuk, Ukrinform reports.
According to the Commander’s posting on Facebook, "the top skill of the art of war is to thwart enemy plans and defeat them without actually deploying troops on the battlefield. And judging by the recent months, the Russians are very skillful in using the ancient Chinese stratagems of warfare."
At the same time, Pavliuk noted, some Ukrainians "have lost understanding that their actions and public statements have turned into a powerful weapon in enemy’s hands. The enemy has not abandoned, is not abandoning, and will never abandon the intention to destroy Ukraine."
The Commander urged citizens to recall "what we wrote and spread in social media two years ago and compare it with what is happening now. From queues to draft centers and jokes such as ‘everyone is sick when it’s time to serve but everyone’s healthy when it’s time to fight’ we arrived to the point where someone harasses our officers from recruitment offices and moral supports draft evasion".
Two years ago, Pavliuk noted, not having even a tenth of today's air defense capabilities, armaments, and experience of waging full-scale war, everyone perfectly understood how important it was to disrupt the mobilization in Russia, "we rejoiced at every military draft office that was set on fire there, rejoiced at the queues of their draft dodgers who were fleeing in panic to Georgia and Kazakhstan".
From the then unity and cohesion, the area of news reports and discussions has stumbled "not without some help from our wonderful bloggers and free media", so people see in their news feeds multiple reports about "unfortunate men who drowned in the Tysa" or "Hutsuls" assaulting recruiters.
At the same time, according to Pavliuk, there are almost no news reports related to the actual work done by Army recruitment centers, the specifics of military service, and the need to perform military duties.
"Today, our draft offices and their security troops are mostly staffed by servicemen whose health was affected on the battlefield and who were deemed unfit to serve in combat units. How did it come to the point where it is acceptable to treat these people, who went through hell, as enemies and label them ‘people hunters’? Why is it that in all the reports about the ‘illegal actions of the draft offices’ the most important emphasis is deliberately omitted: that men’s defiance of their constitutional duty to protect Ukraine is illegal in the first place?", the Commander inquired.
As General Pavliukemphasized, there are many videos circulating across social media with content that is taken out of context.
"We are often reproached: ‘it's your own fault, you just don't change!’ It's not like that. We are changing, we also seeing our shortcomings and work every day to become better, more understandable," he assured.
As Pavliuk emphasized, "before sharing a report of some ‘flagrant rights violations’ and lamenting about ‘poor draft dodgers’, it is worth asking yourself: whom does it really help to win the war? Certainly not Ukraine."
As Ukrinform reported earlier, two men, wielding axes, assaulted military draft center’s officers in Chernivtsi region. Both perpetrators were detained and put into custody without bail.
