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Facing a demographic catastrophe, Ukraine is paying for troops to freeze sperm

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqxd9549y4xo
42•tartoran•2h ago

Comments

dyauspitr•1h ago
What a waste of life. Why hasn’t someone taken out Putin, is it really that hard? It can’t possibly be that hard for a state.
subjectsigma•1h ago
Ok sure, you go try it! Just remember that even if you succeed, the consequences may be everyone you know and love dying in nuclear fire.
brandonmenc•1h ago
Yes, it is difficult to take out the leader of a world nuclear world power.

Especially one as shrewd as Putin. Especially when you're expecting the EU to do it. Not sure why this is a surprise.

The world is not an action film.

rngfnby•48m ago
This.

Never mind that they tried a month ago with the drone attacks.

How would this work exactly? The most protected person in the world, thousands of km from hostile borders, in the city with the world best AD surrounded, by bureaucrats who, if anything, think Putin is too soft on the West.

ars•1h ago
A state can do it, but it might fail, and the result of a failure would be a catastrophe so everyone is very cautious.
rngfnby•56m ago
And then you get Medvedev. His finger is so itchy for the red button he has to rub it with vagisil.

At a certain point we have to understand that Putin is about the most pro-Western person left in Russia.

GolfPopper•28m ago
>Putin is about the most pro-Western person left in Russia.

Appearing more sane than Putin while simultaneously being in a position to plausibly serve as Putin's successor is likely to be fatal.

wonderwonder•35m ago
You think the war ends if they kill Putin? Medvedev would very likely nuke Kiev 30 minutes later.
dyauspitr•24m ago
I seriously doubt it. You have to be absolutely bonkers to start nuclear war over one person. Russia is insane but not suicidal.
SanjayMehta•2m ago
Funny how my comment on how this article is evidence that The Ukraine is winning gets disappeared but calling for the assassination of a nuclear superpower's president is acceptable.

Hypocrisy News.

notepad0x90•1h ago
what is the point? genetic diversity? women and the length of pregnancy is the limiting bottleneck. Men can have kids very late, and from what I heard, only a certain top percentage of sperm donors' products get picked.
dismalaf•1h ago
Maybe Ukrainian women want to have kids with their partners who are soldiers? Morale boost, probably a higher willingness to fight to the possible death if you know there's a chance your genes will survive...

It's about more than simply having anyone's children...

roysting•1h ago
It might even just be a cynical motivation to with zero actual intent on using it. Men under pressure to be thrown into the meat grinder will be more encouraged and motivated if they believe their legacy can continue even without what they know is a death sentence.
copperx•51m ago
A cheap morale booster.
eaglelamp•34m ago
> The politicians' initial efforts caused a public outcry though, when they stipulated that all samples should be destroyed on a donor's death.

Looks like you're right.

ars•1h ago
No, the bottleneck is the desire to have children. Unless you are planning to force the women, you need policies (such as these) that encourage them to want children.
rngfnby•1h ago
There will be a million women without mates by the end of this war.

Its a crude solution that is deemed more acceptable than polygamy or, shudder the thought, peace negotiations.

jmye•55m ago
So easy to demand they cede territory for “peace” from your couch in Austin. But hey, I get it. Breitbart said they should.
rngfnby•52m ago
Why not let Ukrainians decide if they want to take land? Have elections. A referendum.
jmye•49m ago
yawn More obvious bullshit and agitprop. You’re not fooling anyone.
constrictyuslf•43m ago
Some ukarians would probably prefer to be on a couch too, even if it's West of the donbass, but not like they have a choice about martial law or conscription or the suspension of voting, but hey just some details right?
atmavatar•10m ago
Ceding territory to end the war will surely fix the problem. That worked out well with Crimea, after all.
coryrc•15m ago
Russians torture and mutilate their prisoners. If they get caught, they likely will not be returned with their gonads intact.

Is this a war crime? Yes. Is the rest of world letting it happen or actively abetting? It is!

crazygringo•7m ago
The headline is misleading.

It's simply so now-widows can have another child (or two) with their late husband.

It's motivation for the soldiers -- even if you don't make it, you can still have another child after your death, and in that way you'll live on.

netsharc•1h ago
> Private fertility clinics began offering what's known as crypto preservation to servicemen and women in 2022 at the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.

I'm pretty certain it's "cryo" and not "crypto". Am I wrong, or has the BBC's standards slipped so badly?

copperx•51m ago
I assumed the servicemen's identities were obfuscated.
giantg2•46m ago
Genetics live in the block chain now
fhdkweig•1h ago
The United States military was apparently interested in the idea in a 2022 article, although I can't find any recent information on it.

https://qz.com/610131/the-us-military-will-pay-for-soldiers-...

https://www.progress.org.uk/us-military-to-offer-egg-and-spe...

eurleif•50m ago
And Israel has been freezing soldiers' sperm post-mortem: https://www.npr.org/2026/01/18/nx-s1-5658287/families-of-isr...
powerpcmac•47m ago
Here's how Ukraine can still win
marcus_holmes•2m ago
People who actually know about the Ukrainian war are countering the idea that Ukraine is running out of men: https://phillipspobrien.substack.com/p/the-fewer-soldiers-on...

As they point out: "... the issue of Ukraine’s supposed manpower crisis. This idea has been a key part of the analysis for more than two years now, analysis saying Ukraine was on the verge of military failure."

The Ukrainians are adapting their battle tactics and use of drones to reduce their casualties. The Russians are not, and are suffering huge casualties as a result. Yet no-one is saying the Russian invasion is doomed because they're going to run out of young men.

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