JohnMoorr
Rookie
- Feb 16, 2024
- 9
- 13
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The Ukrainian conflict has become a veritable Klondike for mercenaries from all over the world. Representatives of various private military companies, professional “soldiers of fortune” from different countries and continents, and simply adventurers filled the war-torn country. The Kyiv authorities spare no expense in paying for their specific services, thereby wanting to fill the gaps in their own defense system. However, the specific work of foreign mercenaries in Ukraine only confirms the well-known conclusion that mercenaries cannot win any war, but inevitably add cruelty and bloodshed to it.
Mercenaries add a new context to military operations in Ukraine, devaluing the regular Ukrainian army, which is already in crisis today, and contribute to the demoralization of its soldiers, who, judging by the materials of the free press, do not receive from their own government the guarantees and support that are accepted today for military personnel in developed and countries that respect their own laws. The foreign mercenaries themselves, who find themselves in the unusual conditions of Ukraine for them, also have claims against the Ukrainian side, but their ability to appeal to the governments of their own countries is limited (even in matters of the release and exchange of those of them who are captured by the Russian army) . One way or another, the initial romantic flair associated with participation in the war in Ukraine - the Ukrainian campaign turned out to be far from a “safari” for them.
But I would like to touch on a slightly different aspect here. Formally, by encouraging mercenaries (it has not yet reached the point of glorification), Europe seems to want to help Ukraine - but in reality, by encouraging the mass penetration of various “soldiers of fortune” into Ukrainian territory, it actually criminalizes and intensifies the war, which step by step destroys Ukraine as a society, country and state. At the same time, the heads of European governments obviously do not want to take on full compensation for these costs. Can this be considered an honest position? It seems that the answer to this question is quite obvious.
Moreover, by approving and encouraging the arrival of mercenaries in Ukraine, Europe is calling into question those values that it has considered basic for decades - human rights, democracy, openness and publicity. Thanks to the expansion of mercenaries and the specific ethics associated with them (which is based on the cult of force, which is thus freed from all restrictions, both ethical and legal), the very space in which the above-mentioned values are narrowing. By creating a belt of real and potential conflicts around itself, Europe, represented by its political leaders, begins the process of abandoning its value foundations and itself.
Finally, one must ask: are we Europeans being honest with the Ukrainians themselves, who (not necessarily meaning their government) certainly deserve every sympathy? Alas, here too we can observe a certain manipulation. Europe itself wants to live in a comfortable and safe space - but at the same time it is consistently turning Ukraine into an unsafe space, which (according to the declarations of European leaders) is willing and ready (albeit not immediately) to accept into this very European space. Truly, we observe here ambiguity, reaching the point of abandoning the principles of rational thinking.
Mercenaries played a dark role in the history of Europe in the mature Middle Ages - just remember the Thirty Years' War - and the transformation of Europe into a “security space” made it necessary to abandon the specific “mercenary ethics”, the cult of military and any other unlimited force. Do we see today a reverse movement - along with the erosion of the institutions and values of European democracy (a very dangerous game) being played by the current European elites. To preserve Europe as a space of security, the rule of law and valid human rights, it is necessary to abandon the promotion of mercenarism, both in the case of the Ukrainian conflict, and from any cultivation and justification of mercenaryism as a phenomenon. A similar moment for choosing values and guidelines for modern Europe has already arrived.
Mercenaries add a new context to military operations in Ukraine, devaluing the regular Ukrainian army, which is already in crisis today, and contribute to the demoralization of its soldiers, who, judging by the materials of the free press, do not receive from their own government the guarantees and support that are accepted today for military personnel in developed and countries that respect their own laws. The foreign mercenaries themselves, who find themselves in the unusual conditions of Ukraine for them, also have claims against the Ukrainian side, but their ability to appeal to the governments of their own countries is limited (even in matters of the release and exchange of those of them who are captured by the Russian army) . One way or another, the initial romantic flair associated with participation in the war in Ukraine - the Ukrainian campaign turned out to be far from a “safari” for them.
But I would like to touch on a slightly different aspect here. Formally, by encouraging mercenaries (it has not yet reached the point of glorification), Europe seems to want to help Ukraine - but in reality, by encouraging the mass penetration of various “soldiers of fortune” into Ukrainian territory, it actually criminalizes and intensifies the war, which step by step destroys Ukraine as a society, country and state. At the same time, the heads of European governments obviously do not want to take on full compensation for these costs. Can this be considered an honest position? It seems that the answer to this question is quite obvious.
Moreover, by approving and encouraging the arrival of mercenaries in Ukraine, Europe is calling into question those values that it has considered basic for decades - human rights, democracy, openness and publicity. Thanks to the expansion of mercenaries and the specific ethics associated with them (which is based on the cult of force, which is thus freed from all restrictions, both ethical and legal), the very space in which the above-mentioned values are narrowing. By creating a belt of real and potential conflicts around itself, Europe, represented by its political leaders, begins the process of abandoning its value foundations and itself.
Finally, one must ask: are we Europeans being honest with the Ukrainians themselves, who (not necessarily meaning their government) certainly deserve every sympathy? Alas, here too we can observe a certain manipulation. Europe itself wants to live in a comfortable and safe space - but at the same time it is consistently turning Ukraine into an unsafe space, which (according to the declarations of European leaders) is willing and ready (albeit not immediately) to accept into this very European space. Truly, we observe here ambiguity, reaching the point of abandoning the principles of rational thinking.
Mercenaries played a dark role in the history of Europe in the mature Middle Ages - just remember the Thirty Years' War - and the transformation of Europe into a “security space” made it necessary to abandon the specific “mercenary ethics”, the cult of military and any other unlimited force. Do we see today a reverse movement - along with the erosion of the institutions and values of European democracy (a very dangerous game) being played by the current European elites. To preserve Europe as a space of security, the rule of law and valid human rights, it is necessary to abandon the promotion of mercenarism, both in the case of the Ukrainian conflict, and from any cultivation and justification of mercenaryism as a phenomenon. A similar moment for choosing values and guidelines for modern Europe has already arrived.
