There was a Russian troll here asking why I didn't leave earlier even though I knew this would happen, and whether I'm planning on bribing officials to avoid conscription. I already wrote the answers but the parent comment was flagged, so posting here:
1. Most people I know didn't believe Putin would suicidally start a large-scale invasion, despite potentially severe losses (~10k Russian soldiers killed so far in a week) and the complete destruction of Russian economy. Many thought US intelligence' warnings were a part of the information warfare for deterrence. We were wrong. Putin is actually this insane.
2. I registered where I'm staying locally and the military have my number / temp address if they need me. But the number of volunteers to fight WAY exceeds military capacity, so for now I'm staying in the rear and helping where I can make the most impact — by rallying donations, consulting IT volunteers on local map projects, and spreading the truth. I'm contemplating getting my wife and kids through the border but will stay in Ukraine myself, like other Ukrainian men.
I absolutely sympathize with your situation - and I thank you for talking from the field (as well as for leaflet itself, which powers my daily work !)
However, just to get your opinion, do you feel the figures of Russian casualties are realistic ? (I guess you don't have any privileged information, but is there any "word of mouth" about the figures ?)
Anyway, we'll find out in the future.
Stay safe, thanks again, and good luck to you and your loved ones.
Those are official stats from Ukrainian Armed Forces, and they are absolutely realistic, even if approximate. If you're in doubt, follow Bellingcat, OSINTtechnical and people like Christo Grozev who coordinate open source intelligence / confirmation based on available photos / videos. They mostly confirm those numbers.
How about the one off battle stats? There seem to keep being reports of hundreds of vehicles destroyed in singular events. These don't seem to be reflected in the totals even days later though. I'm not clear on whether its because they don't actually have the capacity to count this stuff or if its partially bluster.
Donate here https://www.comebackalive.in.ua/donate, stop supporting the Russian economy and reject their products, rally local leaders to strengthen economic sanctions and increase Ukrainian support.
I have the "living in peace-time democracy" luxury of taking "official" figures with a grain of salt - but I'm pretty sure your government is waaaaaay behind Moscow's one as far as propaganda is concerned.
1. Most people I know didn't believe Putin would suicidally start a large-scale invasion, despite potentially severe losses (~10k Russian soldiers killed so far in a week) and the complete destruction of Russian economy. Many thought US intelligence' warnings were a part of the information warfare for deterrence. We were wrong. Putin is actually this insane.
2. I registered where I'm staying locally and the military have my number / temp address if they need me. But the number of volunteers to fight WAY exceeds military capacity, so for now I'm staying in the rear and helping where I can make the most impact — by rallying donations, consulting IT volunteers on local map projects, and spreading the truth. I'm contemplating getting my wife and kids through the border but will stay in Ukraine myself, like other Ukrainian men.