Facing a demographic catastrophe, Ukraine is paying for troops to freeze sperm
38 points
1 hour ago
| 5 comments
| bbc.com
| HN
netsharc
53 minutes ago
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> 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?

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giantg2
32 minutes ago
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Genetics live in the block chain now
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copperx
38 minutes ago
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I assumed the servicemen's identities were obfuscated.
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fhdkweig
53 minutes ago
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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...

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eurleif
36 minutes ago
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And Israel has been freezing soldiers' sperm post-mortem: https://www.npr.org/2026/01/18/nx-s1-5658287/families-of-isr...
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powerpcmac
33 minutes ago
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Here's how Ukraine can still win
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notepad0x90
58 minutes ago
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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.
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coryrc
1 minute ago
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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!

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roysting
54 minutes ago
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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.
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eaglelamp
20 minutes ago
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> 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.

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copperx
37 minutes ago
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A cheap morale booster.
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ars
53 minutes ago
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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.
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dismalaf
56 minutes ago
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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...

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rngfnby
48 minutes ago
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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.

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jmye
42 minutes ago
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So easy to demand they cede territory for “peace” from your couch in Austin. But hey, I get it. Breitbart said they should.
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constrictyuslf
29 minutes ago
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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?
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rngfnby
38 minutes ago
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Why not let Ukrainians decide if they want to take land? Have elections. A referendum.
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jmye
36 minutes ago
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yawn More obvious bullshit and agitprop. You’re not fooling anyone.
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dyauspitr
1 hour ago
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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.
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ars
55 minutes ago
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A state can do it, but it might fail, and the result of a failure would be a catastrophe so everyone is very cautious.
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rngfnby
43 minutes ago
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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.

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GolfPopper
15 minutes ago
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>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.

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wonderwonder
22 minutes ago
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You think the war ends if they kill Putin? Medvedev would very likely nuke Kiev 30 minutes later.
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dyauspitr
11 minutes ago
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I seriously doubt it. You have to be absolutely bonkers to start nuclear war over one person. Russia is insane but not suicidal.
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subjectsigma
1 hour ago
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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.
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brandonmenc
1 hour ago
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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.

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rngfnby
35 minutes ago
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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.

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