Why negotiating with Putin is impossible

When Putin stated on February 24th that they had no plans to occupy Ukraine, he was telling the truth. This is not a war for territories. It is a war against Ukraine in the broader sense - a war against everything Ukrainian. The Ukrainian people, worldview, language, culture, and vision of their own future. A war against Ukrainian independence.

Therefore, the only option that Putin is willing to consider in the hypothetical future negotiations is the dismantling of Ukrainian independence and the establishment of a personal political regime in Ukraine loyal to him.

No negotiations can achieve this, because such conditions must be accepted not by some officials, up to the state leadership, but by Ukrainian society itself. This could theoretically have been discussed in February 2022, but today it is impossible. Anyone who has seen how flowerbeds with blue and yellow flags now look on Kyiv's Independence Square* understands the obvious impossibility of even a theoretical agreement on this.

It is obvious that Putin's goals can only be achieved through force. And there are two options. The first is external: Putin's troops must conquer Ukraine. The second is internal: if Ukrainians lose unity and begin fighting among themselves. This means either a civil war or a coup. There are no other options.

That is why any negotiations with Putin are impossible. Ukraine simply has nothing to offer in these talks.

To win the war, we must undoubtedly support Ukrainianin soldiers who are facing the external enemy on the frontlines, and we must absolutely maintain our unity, preventing internal division. This is Ukraine's main recipe for success.

*Independence Square is adorned with flowerbeds displaying flags bearing the names of Ukrainian Defense Forces soldiers who fell on the front lines of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

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About the author: Mykola Kniazhytskyi, journalist, Member of Ukrainian Parliament

The editorial team does not always share the views expressed by the authors of blogs or columns.