Guarantees for the beast

Exactly 30 years ago, I stood in the modest rural cemetery of Rakovets, Lviv suburbs. They buried a young boy, Liubomyr Fitio, who was murdered by the Soviet army. Then, Ukraine, just having declared independence, had been returning its sons to the most remote corners of the late empire. Lubomyr returned... with a trident carved on his back.

Since then, for me, the Entry of the Holy Mother of God into the temple is not only a great church holiday, but also a return to the question that was in the title of my report on the first column of the newspaper "For a Free Ukraine": "What did Liubomyr Fitio die for?".

This article is for those who say that the war began in 2014. And for those who are now once again bringing up the topic of... guarantees for Russia.

What goes on in the mind of French President Emmanuel Macron when he says that Putin should be listened to and negotiations with him should be started, having previously studied his demands to the West? That the beast has changed its habits? That a cannibal suddenly became a vegetarian?

"One of the important issues that we have to address - as President Putin has always said - is the fear that NATO is coming to his door and the deployment of weapons that could threaten Russia," said Monsieur Macron.

“What goes on in the mind of French President Emmanuel Macron when he says that Putin should be listened to and negotiations with him should be started, having previously studied his demands to the West? That the beast has changed its habits? That a cannibal suddenly became a vegetarian?”

I think Macron is perfectly aware that he is talking nonsense. As well as the fact that no one will ever be able to give "guarantees" to Putin, especially according to the version announced by the Kremlin. Moreover, on the same day, France sends Rafale fighting aircraft to the borders of Russia as part of the NATO air police mission for the Baltic countries.

And Putin demands the Alliance return to its borders of 1997. So now, at the behest of a terrorist, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania should be thrown out of NATO? And 14 member states that acquired this status after 1997? Because, you see, the agreements concluded at the end of the Cold War under the leader of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev, and the president of the Russian Federation, Boris Yeltsin, no longer correspond to the interests of modern Russia.

The same goes with Ukraine’s non-aligned status. Does the French president think that the tens of thousands of dead, the broken futures of millions, are the price for preserving the amorphousness, or in reality, keeping Ukraine in the "Kremlin's sphere of influence"?

Should Kyiv and the West accept the occupation and annexation of Ukrainian territories? Of course, no one will be in favor of this, because it is clear that Putin, having received the pause he needs, will move on. And it will not stop at Ukraine, even if Poland and the Baltic States are NATO members. This will not scare him, since he will already have "tried out" the pacifist and "timid" Europe.

And yet, despite realizing the worthlessness of his proposals, Macron voiced them. Why does he do this? Why is he saying that "diplomacy is about communicating with people you disagree with. And trying to bridge those gaps and do useful work." "Strange logic of under-the-carpet diplomacy," Oleksiy Danilov wrote regarding this statement.

The most useful thing to do regarding Russia would be to stop any dialogue. As we do with a typical terrorist; we do not negotiate, but destroy them.

And the only guarantee that can be given to Putin and his cronies should be the guarantee of a fair and inevitable tribunal for the attempt to destroy the world order, for mass war crimes against Ukraine, for terror in Western countries, for... I don't know whether there is an article in the legislation, under which Putin's regime would not fall. However, as the Ukrainian Secretary of the National Security Council notes, "the only guarantee is the humanity of the European judicial system: there is no death penalty after a verdict at The Hague.”

“The most useful thing to do regarding Russia would be to stop any dialogue. As we do with a typical terrorist; we do not negotiate, but destroy them.”

When this happens, when Russia, similar to post-Nazi Germany, is divided into occupation zones under the control of the victorious countries, when it is deprived of weapons, nuclear weapons first and foremost, when dozens of new nation-states appear on the territory of the former empire, and when what remains of Russia pays reparations and compensation not only to Ukraine, but also to all peoples enslaved by it - then I will be able to answer the question: "Why did Liubomyr Fityo die?" If not me, then at least future generations of Ukrainians.

About the author: Ihor Hulyk is a journalist, editor-in-chief of the Espreso.West website.

Espreso TV does not always share the opinions expressed by the blog authors.