Would you stay & Fight?

@EvilPea Assuming what I’ve just read is accurate. They have 36,000 women fighting. Including “miss Ukraine” Yes I know that, they aren't throwing the women out but the fact remains that what we are hearing is men aged 18 to 60 aren't allowed to leave but all women are. I'm surprised in the 21st century that women aren't considered equal and also that men haven't got the same freedom. I'm not sure which surprises me more.

To be clear the petrol bomb broke the window and it was cold because they didn't repair the window.

I was working in a different police station, we were besieged by a large group outraged that their mates were arrested. Everyone standing around in the main reception and I was told the negotiator was being sent from HQ. I asked if I was free to go and told I could but not advised. I said I was going as the kids would be waiting for their tea so I left. Everyone else spent about 3 hrs waiting to be rescued. Nothing happened to me, I'm not sure why as I realise it was a bit batshit but I suppose crazy women have a guardian angel.

On the other hand I was driving down a country lane and sheep had got out of a field and I hadn't got a clue what to do and sat there like an idiot surrounded by what looked like hundreds of sheep until someone came and rescued me. He rounded them up and got them back through the fence. I would imagine sheep are less of a threat than petrol bombers so not sure what is wrong with my judgement.

No my DC (2 under 6) need me more. My priority would be to get them out and somewhere stable and help to rebuild our lives.

No I'd take my DC and leave. My DH would have to make his own decision whether to join us or not.
How would you fight anyway ? Stand on the roof of your house with a ballistic missile ?
I would want my children out of a war zone as a priority. I actually said to my DH last week if I was in Ukraine I'd be out of there.

In fact I also did riot training and was hopeless at that - got set on fire and the trainers had to put me out!

Yes I would stay

I did some war training in my old job and was utterly shit , just remembered . I'd be dead very quickly. The noise and fear even in a training exercise overtook me.

I like to think that I would but I wouldn't want my adult kids to, so I'd probably flee with them. If I could send them to Canada (to their dads) I would.

Nope. I would have left Ukraine last week.

I had thought I would stay but seeing Kyiv there's no way I could keep dd in that situation. Although I'd have been too late. It's absolutely terrifying , I wish we could help .

To all those saying you would flee do you think he will stop if Ukraine is a walk over? I don't I think Poland and then others. Finland, Sweden etc. You can only flee so far.

Narcissists on both sides conscripting men by force and making them fight like gladiator slaves.

It’s normal to wonder what you’d do in the same situation and to empathise with people who are, but I don’t find the thread overall very empathetic. Lots of boasting - and I find that a bit tasteless when your resolve won’t actually be tested.

I would fight front line but I'd stay to tend to the injured. That would be my strength.

Without dd, I'd stay. Both dd's dad and dp would want to fight, but one of us would have to run. Unless my parents took dd. She's 12. Me and dp just talked about this, if this was happening now in Manchester wtf would we do.

I don’t know what I’d do

Right now I say stay but that isn’t reality or really knowing at the time

As a mother I'd take them as a single person if I'd fight on oricioe. Fuck rusia and putin

I honestly have no idea. I’m a feisty bird so there’s a chance I would but I could t say for sure.

It probably wouldn’t be your choice. Ukraine has conscripted men only, they aren’t allowed to leave the country. That leaves the mother as the only parent who can take their children to safety. My responsibility is to my kids so I would run.

As @MrsTerryPratchett said though, none of us really know. I know there are very few lines I would not cross to protect my kids and actually I think most parents are like that. Our strength, our anger, our courage, are not our own in those situations. It's primal. The need to run, or the need to fight. We can't know it until faced with it.

Pre having kids- hell yes

Now? No way

I wouldn't fight, I would take me and my kids and flee and once there I would be brilliant at advocating for vulnerable people, making sure everyone is taken care of and fed, finding out information and finding resources. I wouldn't be great at entertaining the kids, but would be great at keeping the grown ups morale up. I'm good at making people laugh but my humour can be a bit dark and sweary for little ears.

If I didn't have kids I'd be a volunteer medic on the 'front line'. I'm not medically trained (although I am a first aider). I know I don't flinch from blood, am good at doing maths in my head, am great at improvising if I don't have the exact resources or medicines I need. I have a mind for that. I do sometimes wish I had pursued a medical path (I am not book smart but am great on my feet). I am quite fearless in situations where I have to be, I would rather run through gun fire to save someone that shoot a gun though. I would if I had to but only to protect somebody else's life.

I am so overwhelmingly grateful today that this is not my reality. My heart breaks for the people of Ukraine who are not getting to pontificate but instead are being faced with this as an actual reality.