"I'm not afraid to kill anyone. I just don't want to die. The German weekly "Der Spiegel" published an article on the 21st, reporting on the voices of Ukrainians who fled their homeland to avoid military service under the "new mobilization law" in Kiev.
Boyko, 24, told Der Spiegel about his difficult escape from his homeland: One day, about two years ago, he climbed into the icy Tisza River and swam across the river to Romania to escape possible mobilization. Since then, Boyko said, he has lived in the midst of quarrels. Because he fled the war, some people broke off relations with him. People like Boyko who evade military service face up to 5 years in prison in Ukraine.
According to Der Spiegel, Boyko is one of about 650,000 Ukrainians who have reached conscription age and left their homeland. They now reside in an EU country, Switzerland, Norway or Liechtenstein. Kyiv has repeatedly shouted for these people to return, and recently the tone has become more and more harsh. In January, an adviser to Ukraine** Zelensky called on European countries to stop supporting Ukrainian refugees "so that they can return home."
It is estimated that about 70,000 Ukrainians have died in the war over the past two years, the report said. Politicians have repeatedly stressed that Ukraine is defending the security of Europe, but the burden of killing and death also falls entirely on Ukrainians. The army expects that Ukraine needs up to 500,000 recruits. The controversial mobilization bill is expected to pass in the coming weeks. Under the bill, the conscription age would be lowered from the current 27 to 25.
In the face of tougher mobilization bills, three Ukrainians interviewed by Der Spiegel said they would not return to Ukraine. One of them sighed: "There is nothing left in the country to defend against." "The data shows that to date there have been about 190,000 Ukrainian men illegally crossed the border to the West.
Yangcheng Evening News Yangcheng Pai Comprehensive Xinhuanet, Global Network, Visual China).