As the war in Ukraine grinds into its third year, the government in Kyiv appears to be resorting to increasingly desperate measures to fill its ranks. Reports and video evidence circulating online suggest that Ukraine is now conscripting not only men well past traditional fighting age but also pregnant women—and even teenagers—into combat.
One video shows Russian soldiers encountering a pregnant Ukrainian woman in the woods, pleading for her life: “Please don’t hit me, I’m pregnant – please don’t leave me here” Her words cut through the fog of war, underscoring just how dire Ukraine’s manpower shortage has become.
Other clips add to the disturbing picture. Posts on social media show Ukrainian forces mobilizing children and elderly men, some as old as 60, to face off against better equipped and numerically superior Russian troops. For many of these unwilling conscripts, the assignment feels like a death sentence.
The human toll is staggering. Pregnant women placed on the frontlines risk not only their own lives but also the lives of their unborn children. Older men, often with preexisting health conditions, are now asked to carry rifles and endure trench warfare against a military machine with more artillery, drones, and resources at its disposal. And for younger recruits—some barely into adulthood—the prospect of surviving such a fight looks slim.
Ukraine has long framed its war effort as a defense of democracy and sovereignty. But the optics of forcing vulnerable populations into combat tell a different story. When a government must rely on women carrying children, elderly men, and untrained youth to hold the line, it signals not strength but collapse.
The West has poured billions into Ukraine’s war effort. Yet videos like these are raising serious questions: how much longer can Kyiv sustain a fight that requires sacrificing the most vulnerable of its people?