Russians abroad always talk about how great the motherland is, but nobody wants to move back there and not just because of the war. Or have you moved back to Russia yet?

[–] yogthos@lemmy.ml 4 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Russian army has no problem recruiting volunteers to fight last I checked.

[–] boonhet@lemm.ee 0 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I mean if financially motivated is volunteer, then sure. They're getting paid real well lately.

[–] yogthos@lemmy.ml 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

What's stopping you from signing up for the foreign legion?

[–] boonhet@lemm.ee 0 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Value proposition for me isn't nearly as good considering my current income and potential foreign legion income. Would be a major loss. Putin's offer is way better if you consider the median salary in Russia and what the recruits are apparently being offered.

[–] yogthos@lemmy.ml 5 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Military service in Russia does pay relative to median salary, no question about that. And I imagine volunteers end up being a far more effective fighting force than conscripts gang pressed into fighting which what the vast majority of the AFU is at this point.

[–] boonhet@lemm.ee 0 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Yup, so while those people technically volunteer, I wouldn't be so sure that they're volunteering out of their love for the motherland.

Still, I reckon the order of motivation goes: Patriots who fight for the cause > Well-paid volunteers > Conscripts. So you've got that right. Unfortunately, I doubt Ukraine can offer any contractors nearly as much as Russia does.

I do hope there's peace soon, but that's still entirely up to Putin and literally nobody else. I'm pretty sure Ukrainians would be ready to accept a white peace immediately at this point, without even regaining Crimea or anything, but Putin needs to have territorial gains beyond that.

[–] yogthos@lemmy.ml 4 points 2 days ago

It's as much up to the west as it is up to Russia. The Ukrainians are stuck fighting a proxy war for NATO here. It's also worth noting that Russia offered negotiations right before Ukraine started their ill fated Kursk offensive. It's pretty clear that neither the Ukrainian regime nor their western sponsors want to negotiate. The real tragedy in all this is that the war could've been over two months in when the negotiations in Astana were happening, but as we now know the west sabotaged them and convinced Ukraine to fight instead.

[–] UltraGiGaGigantic@lemmy.ml -1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Are you referencing the North Korean voluntolds?

[–] yogthos@lemmy.ml 4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

nah, I'm not gullible enough to believe stories about DPRK troops fighting in Russia

https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-recruiting-30000-troops-a-month-ukraine-frontline-losses-analysts-2024-1