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Zelensky: No way of predicting how the millions of Ukrainian refugees in European countries would react to their country being abandoned (archive.ph)

submitted 9 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Curtailing aid to Ukraine will only prolong the war, Mr Zelensky argues. And it would create risks for the West in its own backyard. There is no way of predicting how the millions of Ukrainian refugees in European countries would react to their country being abandoned. Ukrainians have generally “behaved well” and are “very grateful” to those who sheltered them. They will not forget that generosity. But it would not be a “good story” for Europe if it were to “drive these people into a corner”.

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[–] [email protected] 37 points 9 months ago (12 children)

But it's not exactly a threat is it? It's a very reasonable observation about how Ukrainian refugees might feel and behave.

Wouldn't you feel the same way? Your country gets invaded, you flee to a generous supporting friendly country. That country stops being supporting, and your chances to return home start to vanish. You didn't choose to be here. Now you're stuck in a foreign country that you feel could be doing more to fight injustice and give you a chance to return home.

He's the president of a democracy, not a mind controller. People will feel a certain way. He's simply observing this potential situation, as a warning to the allies not to slide into complacency.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (3 children)

you flee to a generous supporting friendly country

You didn't choose to be here

Huh?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Not OP, but they didn't flee to the country just for funsies but because there's war raging in their home country. They didn't choose to emigrate to a certain country because they always wanted to live there but because they feared for their lives.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

A lot of people, maybe. There’s also a pretty solid minority of people who see this as a great way of making some easy bucks (it absolutely is, if you think about it).

And before you say I’m making this up, this is based both on stories told by Ukrainian acquaintances about people they know who emigrated, and personal experiences with the average refugee who left.

Don’t forget that becoming a refugee IS a privilege generally reserved for those with enough money to make the trip, not for the poor bastard dying for his country.

[–] [email protected] -4 points 9 months ago

So you agree that the overwhelming majority of the people fled the country for totally legitimate reasons? Then why does this point need to be made at all? Ukraine isn't some African country where people need to struggle for basic necessities, it's mostly a developed first world country. Most people don't need to go anywhere for a better life, let alone get put into a room in Berlin with their entire family. How about we stop downplaying the immense tragedy of having to leave your entire life behind in fear of being killed because some dipshits take advantage?

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