>>>> Even in Kiev and Lviv almost everyone wanted to venture to Europe or if possible North America,<<<
To the extent that the 2014 coup had real popular support, those were the younger people, hoping that EU membership was going to open for them job opportunities in the West.
Lithuania is in serious demographic trouble, exactly for this reason. For decades now, young people are migrating West - Ireland, btw, is a very popular destination. College students are scouting for jobs in the West - as soon as they can get there. Read an article about that - by a prominent realtor describing that some years ago, a big chunk of their business was selling properties to people who went to live and work in the West - and wanted to build or buy homes, in beautiful places (Lithuanian lakes are amazing) - where they would live once they retire and come back home. In more recent years, this trend has reversed - now, large numbers of those presumed future retirees come back to visit - and use the opportunity to sell their wonderful lakefront properties. They’re not coming back. It’s a huge brain and population drain.
About hired armies…. Machiavelli strongly advised not taking this option whenever it can be avoided. Hired armies will abandon you if the outcome is uncertain, or the fighting - too hard, or plunder opportunities - unattractive. Or, worse yet, they may turn against you.
No wonder so many heroic “foreign fighters” are abandoning Ukraine. Also, the Russians made sure to advertise that they would be treated not as legit combatants but as common criminals. |
