New Delhi, May 27 -- In a field somewhere in Kyiv, a group of patriotic teenagers are practising military drills under the watch of army instructors. The youngest is 14. They come here four or five times a week after homework, and earnestly say they are ready to step in for the fallen. "Our guys are not infinite. Someone has to replace them," says 18-year-old Danylo, his emerald eyes framed by a khaki balaclava.

Across town, a 28-year-old is staring at the walls of his safehouse, in lockdown and digital silence since escaping conscription in February. At the start of the war Ivan raised money for the army. Now, pallid from lack of sunlight, he rejects the idea of an independent Ukraine itself. He is one of an estimated 300,000 Ukrainian ...