This article from Newsweek is a classic example of western journalists abandoning journalism and instead using their platforms for blatant political advocacy. And it exposes something I have been talking about a while, the attempt to shift the blame for military failures off NATO’s shoulders onto Ukraine’s.
Yes, allegedly 6 million Ukrainian men between the ages of 18-60 have not updated their registration data in compliance with the law, but this figure is useless without knowing the total number. The author doesn’t state this number, or if unknown, doesn’t state that it is important to know.
He also repeats Zelensky’s claim of 43,000 Ukrainian KIA as of December 2024, which is incredibly unlikely to be true, but the author states it like verified fact.
The article goes on to claim Ukraine’s total population is stated to be 38 million, which is also very unlikely to be true even when counting lost territory in Novorossia and Crimea.
Another extremely crucial omitted detail is that many Ukrainian men, particularly younger workers, are not in Ukraine, and this was true even before Spring 2022.
If that 6 million represents the large majority of unconscripted men 18 to 60, that implies a total population closer to 25 million, maybe even as low as 20 million.
But that is only a wild guess, as the 6 million figure is just the Ukrainian claim, and doesn’t have enough context.
So this article really does not offer any actionable information. It is pure war propaganda to advocate for continued western support while at the same time painting Ukrainian men as the bad guys for being reluctant to die for western democracy.
Ian Kummer
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