After being turned into a gasoline importer by Ukraine, Russia has launched furious retaliation, prompting the EU to consider repatriating Ukrainian men of conscription age.

Following Ukraine's actions that left Russia dependent on gasoline imports, Russia's retaliation has begun.

Early in the morning of the 6th local time, Russian forces launched a large-scale attack on Kyiv. According to Ukrainian sources, the assault caused fires in apartment buildings, resulting in at least nine deaths and dozens more injured. The previous large-scale attack occurred just four days earlier, during which Ukraine reported at least 30 fatalities.

Naturally, the Russian strikes were not aimed at residential areas in Kyiv, but rather at military and energy infrastructure. However, due to the immense destructive power of the missiles, nearby residential buildings inevitably suffered collateral damage. Similarly, Ukrainian drone attacks deep inside Russian territory also result in civilian casualties.

Therefore, Zelenskyy has appealed to Western countries to continue supplying weapons, stating that if allies can deliver air defense systems faster, fewer Ukrainian lives would be lost.

But in truth, when Ukraine first decided to strike behind Russian lines, it should have anticipated this moment. It’s simply tit for tat—neither side is morally superior to the other.

Notably, as Ukraine faces Russian retaliation, the EU is currently discussing ending protection for Ukrainian men of conscription age, a proposal supported by Zelenskyy.

According to an official report released earlier by the EU, approximately 4.33 million Ukrainians are currently living in EU member states. After excluding males and females under 18, the number of adult males eligible for military service is at most 1.15 million.

This figure includes men aged 18–25 who are in non-compulsory military service categories, as well as men who have resided legally in EU countries for four years and thus gained permanent residency rights, plus others exempt from conscription—for example, those already having a son serving in the military or those responsible for caring for disabled family members.

When all these exemptions are factored out, the actual number of conscript-age men the EU could potentially repatriate is fewer than 200,000—even under ideal circumstances. In reality, these individuals will not sit idle waiting to be sent back; they will undoubtedly try every possible means to evade conscription. To put it bluntly, returning now would mean walking straight onto the battlefield—those who managed to escape won’t want to go back to die.

In parallel, the EU continues aggressively urging Zelenskyy to keep fighting—truly determined to fight "until the last Ukrainian" perishes.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1869954957647884/

Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.