Ukrainians are indeed tired of the war that Russia has imposed on them, of the immense sacrifices, destruction and losses it has caused, and also of the procrastination of its Western supporters, especially the US under Donald Trump which is now insisting, in the words of Vice President DJ Vance, that Russia and Ukraine can be “forced” to make peace by the American leader.
Yes, Ukrainians want an end to the war, but not at any price: above all, they do not want to surrender by giving Russia everything it has seized or is demanding at this point in time.
JOIN US ON TELEGRAM
Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has made this clear. And he has emphasized that the Ukrainian constitution does not allow him or anyone else to cede the country’s territory to others.
This raises questions. What about international law and the UN Charter? Won’t Russia have to pay the price for the terrible consequences of the war?
The fact is, however, that Russia occupies around 20 percent of Ukrainian territory and the Trump Administration has been content to appease Russia, thereby debilitating any joint Western response.
So, if realism and pragmatism are expected to prevail under difficult conditions, the compromise could be that the status quo on the ground is temporarily accepted de facto, but certainly not de jure.
And here, there are other immediate questions: what is to be done with the millions of displaced persons from these occupied territories who have become refugees abroad or internally displaced persons in Ukraine?
‘You Will Never Hold Occupied Lands’: Ukraine Warns Russia at UN to ‘Get Out Before It’s Too Late’
Who will help Ukraine cope with the enormous task of reconstruction if its security and prospects are undermined by powerful external forces acting in their own cynical interests?
What should Ukraine receive in return for forced concessions of the kind apparently under discussion – land for peace? Surely not just a temporary ceasefire or the closure of airspace?
What security guarantees will Ukraine receive in return for temporarily accepting Russia’s lawless and – in reality – barbaric theft and plunder of its territory, the expulsion or liquidation of its Ukrainian inhabitants and the dangerous violation of international law?
It must be something along the lines of accelerated integration into NATO and/or the EU. Otherwise, as everyone knows, the Russians will simply regroup and attack again when it suits them. Together with China, Iran, North Korea and the BRICS states, Russia will see the West as a spent power that can be challenged with impunity.
In short, there will certainly be some who are prepared to settle for peace at any price. But they are in the minority.
And it is highly demoralizing to hear Vance declare irresponsibly on behalf of his boss, “Americans, I think, are sick of continuing to send their money, their tax dollars to this particular conflict...”
Ukrainians have seen only too well what Russian occupation and domination means – the barbaric destruction of their nation, of their democratic bulwark on the eastern border of Europe, and the triumph of Russian despotic anti-Western imperialism.
Ukrainians know that that they must persevere, even if they are abandoned or betrayed by their supposed friends. Annihilation, servitude or resistance for as long as it takes. That is the bitter reality and the choice they face.
Today, in these uncertain times, Ukrainians are relying on the understanding, solidarity and support of the free world and not on any illusory, self-serving pacts with the devil that will definitely bring all or some of them, and perhaps also some of their neighbors, to hell.
You can also highlight the text and press Ctrl + Enter
