Like something from some cinematic blockbusters chronicling the days of darkness when that statement was uttered when confronted by the state police.

Only thing this was uttered just recently in establishments across Ukraine…..

Ukrainian military recruitment officers raided restaurants, bars, and a concert hall in Kyiv, checking military registration documents and detaining men who were not in compliance, local media reported Saturday. Officers reportedly descended on Kyiv’s Palace of Sports after a concert Friday night by Ukrainian rock band Okean Elzy. Video footage aired by media outlets appears to show officers stationed outside the doors of the concert hall intercepting men as they exit. In the footage, officers appear to be forcibly detaining some men, the AP reports. Checks were also conducted at Goodwine, an upscale shopping center, and Avalon, a popular restaurant.

It is unusual for such raids to take place in the capital, and the effort reflects Ukraine’s dire need for fresh recruits. All Ukrainian men age 25 to 60 are eligible for conscription, and men 18 to 60 are not allowed to leave the country. Reports said raids were also conducted in clubs and restaurants in other cities, including Kharkiv and Dnipro in eastern and central Ukraine. The mobilization drive has intensified this year. A new law came into effect this spring stipulating that those eligible for military service must put their information into an online system or face penalties.

Both sides are facing the issue of how to sustain their costly war of attrition—a conflict that started with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and that shows no signs of a resolution. Ukraine’s aim is to impair Russia’s ability to support its front-line units, especially in the eastern Donetsk region where the main Russian battlefield effort is stretching weary Ukrainian forces. Kyiv is still awaiting word from its Western partners on its repeated requests to use the long-range weapons they provide to hit targets on Russian soil.

Things are dragging on and the pool of recruits is dwindling so they must resort to the age old tactic of demanding papers to confirm you are there and counted.

Could this lack of recruits be the source of the new direction that Ukraine is considering?

The Ukrainian government is considering options to end the war with Russia that would involve ceding territory, Der Spiegel reported on Sunday, citing a Ukrainian official.

The report said it was the first time since Russia’s invasion in February 2022 that the Ukrainian leadership has considered a deal that wouldn’t involve it getting back all of the territory Russian forces have captured since February 2022.

Under a peace deal that was on the table in March and April 2022, Russia would have withdrawn its forces back to pre-invasion lines. But that deal was discouraged by the US and other NATO countries, who urged the Ukrainians to fight.

Over the past two years, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been pushing a “peace formula” that calls for a full Russian withdrawal from Ukraine before peace talks can even happen, which is a non-starter for negotiations with Moscow.

“We believed that victory had to mean the unconditional surrender of Putin’s Russia,” the Ukrainian source told Der Spiegel. The official acknowledged that was not a realistic view, saying, “A deal must also be beneficial for Russia.”

The report comes as Russian forces continue to make gains in eastern Ukraine, which have become more rapid in recent months. Ukrainian forces still hold a small chunk of Russia’s Kursk Oblast, but Russian troops are slowly pushing them back.

(antiwar.com)

That consideration sounds familiar for some reason.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”