Blunt warnings that Europeans may not be able to avoid conscription have begun to trigger the first signs of open resistance across the continent. Anger is growing among citizens who fear the European Union is preparing to force young people into the bloodshed of the Russia–Ukraine war.
French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Chancellor of Germany Friedrich Merz, and Dutch Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans have all appealed to young people to “stand up for their country” as part of what critics describe as a carefully coordinated campaign. Coercion is no longer ruled out. In Germany, Merz has openly stated that compulsory service could be reinstated if voluntary recruitment falls short.
This month, 50,000 German students (representatives of Generation Z) protested in 90 cities. In public squares, banners appeared reading “Nein zur Wehrpflicht” (“No to conscription”). One protest slogan summed up the mood: “You will not get my grandchildren”; “F**k War. We don’t want to be fit for war; we want to be fit for peace.”
In the United Kingdom, this week outrage erupted after Chief of the Defence Staff Sir Richard Knighton warned the public to prepare for war in light of the Russian threat.
“Perhaps the most obvious impact of all this will be the cost of building resilience,” Knighton said. “Sons and daughters, colleague veterans—everyone will have a role to play: To build, to serve and, if necessary, to fight. More families will learn what sacrifice for our nation truly means.”
In the Netherlands, debate is raging, with influencers from both Left and Right questioning whether there is truly an imminent Russian threat—or whether Brussels is using fear to justify rebuilding long-neglected national armies into a single massive European force.
Dutch defence policy has been hollowed out for decades by budget cuts. At one point, in 2015, soldiers reportedly had to shout “bang bang” during training exercises because live ammunition was unavailable.
“The same man who allowed this decay, Mark Rutte, is now Secretary General of NATO,” said Lia Van Sigt, 61, a consultant in alternative medicine. “Are our kids supposed to ride their fat-bikes to the front in Ukraine?
“These boys are kind, they organise parties well—but they’re not soldiers. Who exactly is expected to fight this war? This is going to be Vietnam 2.0.”
Scepticism toward continued military escalation is also reshaping domestic politics. Lidewij de Vos, new leader of the Dutch party Forum for Democracy (FvD), was the only MP to boycott Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s December address to parliament. “Had we been given the opportunity to ask questions, we would certainly have been present—but the current setup is fundamentally flawed: it implies that it is ‘our war’ and thus constitutes a veiled show of support. We are not willing to accept this,” she wrote.
Although FvD is often dismissed by opponents as fringe, the party is surging in polls, projected to win twelve seats. Its supporters are disproportionately young voters frustrated by housing shortages, climate policies, mass migration and what they see as an endless war narrative.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has likewise warned of a slippery slope. “The path to war unfolds in four stages,” Orbán wrote on X. “Broken diplomacy, sanctions and severed trade ties, conscription and a war economy, and finally direct confrontation. European leaders are pushing the continent dangerously close to stage 4.”
Former MEP, Sebastiaan Stotler (PVV, Patriots for Europe) said: “After a ceasefire—or preferably peace—the PVV is willing to consider how we can provide support to Ukraine. However, I want to make it clear to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence that the PVV will never agree to
boots on the ground.”
Since the start of the war, heartbreaking videos have circulated in Ukraine, filmed by eyewitnesses. Men being grabbed off the streets against their will. Screams that cut through bone and marrow. Young men fighting for their lives, violently shoved into vans by commandos—remarkably, their own people—under the helpless gaze of their loved ones, to be sent to fight at the front under coercion: Facing death.
Border guards and officials who allow escape face heavy penalties. Kyiv resident Anna, 25, who didn’t want her surname revealed, told Brussels Signal she understands why Europeans are increasingly weary of the war. “Ukraine simply doesn’t have enough people left,” she said. “EU leaders say we are the shield against Russia—but we never chose to be that shield. Our men are dying. Putin wants land and
blood. Putin is like Hitler. I am in horrible disgust of him.”
Anna survives in Kyiv under worsening conditions: electricity shortages, no hot water, and constant fear. After a drone attack, she developed panic attacks. “It’s the sound,” she says, imitating the high-pitched whine of drones that now circle residential buildings. “Sssssssssshhh…..”
When fear sets in, she hides in her bathroom, far from windows, distracting herself with short Tik Tok videos online. Reaching the basement shelter is often impossible. “My legs just stop moving, they feel like stone.”
In Kyiv she sees soldiers returning from the front every day. “They’re missing hands, eyes, ears. The ones who are tortured come back hollow, like dementors from Harry Potter—souls gone.”
And yet, she still supports resistance.”Better to live in war than under Russia,” she says.
