If Ukraine's government ruled for the sake of the country's philia (in the Aristotelian sense), then that might be a good argument. That would mean Ukraine had a cohesive society, where desertion in the face of crisis would be traitorous behavior-- to be dealt with accordingly.
When the government is corrupt (as Ukraine's is) and the ruling caste is of a different religion than the people (as Ukraine's is,) forced conscription starts to look like shoving unwilling citizens' bodies in harm's way for the sake of the ruling caste's agenda. Deserting a government that has arguably already betrayed it's people through gross malfeasance prior to the crisis isn't nearly as clear cut as the situation in the above paragraph.
Yeah, I don't really disagree with that. Generally, this is also why conscription is stupid, and conscription at the border for people who are fleeing on the first day of fighting is worse. These people have no interest in defending the country.
I suspect they just want to stop people from routing, which is as alternative issue, and has it's own kinds of considerations.
But you're not wrong, even if it is a societal level existential threat, if you don't give a shit about your society dying, then clearly you aren't going to defend it.
If Ukraine's government ruled for the sake of the country's philia (in the Aristotelian sense), then that might be a good argument. That would mean Ukraine had a cohesive society, where desertion in the face of crisis would be traitorous behavior-- to be dealt with accordingly.
When the government is corrupt (as Ukraine's is) and the ruling caste is of a different religion than the people (as Ukraine's is,) forced conscription starts to look like shoving unwilling citizens' bodies in harm's way for the sake of the ruling caste's agenda. Deserting a government that has arguably already betrayed it's people through gross malfeasance prior to the crisis isn't nearly as clear cut as the situation in the above paragraph.
Yeah, I don't really disagree with that. Generally, this is also why conscription is stupid, and conscription at the border for people who are fleeing on the first day of fighting is worse. These people have no interest in defending the country.
I suspect they just want to stop people from routing, which is as alternative issue, and has it's own kinds of considerations.
But you're not wrong, even if it is a societal level existential threat, if you don't give a shit about your society dying, then clearly you aren't going to defend it.