No Negotiations with Russia; NATO Membership is a Must

Ukraine is not a nation or a country whose sole place in the 21st century is on a stage impressively performing folk and classical music and songs or dancing world-famous choreography. Ukraine has been wrongly and dangerously deprived of its rightful place under the sun for far longer than other righteous and unrighteous peoples which has created a lopsided global political constellation of independent nation-states. To be sure, independent Ukraine has a great deal to offer the international community.

The malicious gatekeepers that have traditionally been the historical enemies of the Ukrainian nation, which for their own national selfish reasons kept immensely naturally rich Ukraine shackled in a dungeon, are tsarist, communist and Putin’s Russia, Austro-Hungarian empire, Nazi Germany, Poland, Hungary and a few others. On the benign side we find countries that support Ukraine but not wholeheartedly due ignorance or confusion about Ukraine such as the United States, and the other NATO member-states.

Today the Ukrainian nation is again embroiled in a war for its existence, which is fast turning into the biggest war on the European continent since the Allies defeat Nazi Germany. The unfortunate but well-known external scenario is repeating itself: the usual allies are more or less advocating for Ukraine with the exception of its Eastern European allies that have experienced Russian aggression and subjugation while the enemy, Russia and its confederates, Belarus, North Korea and Iran, are brazenly seeking Ukraine’s defeat, re-subjugation and eradication. 

And herein lies the quandary about Ukraine’s future. What can the free world do to preserve Ukrainian independence, sovereignty and indivisibility without too much collateral damage? As for Russia, the Kremlin doesn’t care about its image so long as the geographic territory and people known as Ukraine and Ukrainians are its captives regardless of the collateral damage.

Does the free world want to see Ukraine free and mighty, allied with its side regardless of the consequences or not? Russia certainly doesn’t care about the consequences so long as its goals are reached. Thus, it is regularly bombing civilian residences, hospitals and infrastructures and killing unarmed Ukrainian men, women and children not to mention prisoners or war.

Since the inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United States, the Kremlin hasn’t diminished its deadly air attacks against civilian targets in Ukraine. Among its recent targets has been historic Odesa, the Ukrainian city on the Black Sea. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that Regional Governor Oleh Kiper said the center of Odesa, a UNESCO World Heritage site, was among the areas hit during the assault.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Odesa’s grand historic opera house and the five-star Hotel Bristol, a landmark constructed 19th century, were damaged during the shelling. Zelenskyy added that Norwegian diplomatic representatives were in the epicenter of the attack but avoided harm.

Later this month, the latest Russian war against Ukraine will have lasted three years. By anecdotal accounts, the war, which early on attracted the attention of the mainstream media, now has fallen off their front pages and evening telecasts. Ukraine may be restocking its arsenals due to the good will of allies, but Russia continues to be unrelenting in fulfilling its coldhearted mission. Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine’s permanent representative and ambassador to the United Nations, testified in the Security Council that Russians believe that Ukrainian soldiers and civilians do not deserve to live and must be killed.

The non-combatant bloodshed and unrestrained destruction of cities and farmlands have prompted many outsiders to raise the clarion call for an end to the war, a ceasefire and even surrender of temporarily occupied Ukrainian territory to Russia. For them it matters not how the war ends. They just want the shooting and bombing to end. President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are part of that ignorant, naïve and dangerous fraternity. Surely, Washington would not agree to surrender an acre of American land to Hamas or another Islamist terrorist group.

For Ukrainians and its strongest advocates, regional peace is not a cheap commodity. As was demanded by some during the Vietnam War, Ukrainians also today insist on peace with victory, peace with honor.

President Zelenskyy, who talks about peace more than Putin and some other leaders, understands that a cessation of hostilities between Ukraine and Russia, a ceasefire, cannot be merely a declared intention but a realistic and moral conclusion. And the onus of fulfillment is not Ukraine but rather Russia. Since Moscow invaded Ukraine and has been waging war on its fertile black soil for nearly 36 months, it first and foremost must stop shooting, pack up its weapons and cutthroats, and return to Russia. There is no justifiable reason for negotiating anything with the aggressor. Countries that are suggesting discussions are playing into the hands of the Kremlin. Putin knows based on the Trump’s behavior that the United States will strongly endeavor to force Ukraine to make concessions to wrongly placate Moscow.

However, Zelenskyy understands that the concept of a tripartite meeting about the war might be a deal breaker. Even though Ukraine is firmly sticking to the adage of “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine,” Trump said his team is already engaged in “very serious” discussions with the Russian side on how to end the war in Ukraine.

Talks about the war that do not include Ukraine are “very dangerous,” Zelenskyy told the news media. “They may have their own relations but talking about Ukraine without us — it is dangerous for everyone.”

Zelenskyy said the first step for Ukraine is to hold a high-level meeting with Trump, so that Kyiv and Washington can develop their own plans for a ceasefire. Then the parties can move on to discussions that involve Russia.  

“I believe that, first and foremost, we (must) hold a meeting with (Trump), and that is important. And that is, by the way, something that everyone in Europe wants,” Zelenskyy said.

If I were asked, I believe Ukraine should squeeze Russia until it crawls to the negotiating table and surrenders unconditionally, like Nazi Germany did in 1945.

As for the future, all thinking pundits know Russians will never abandon their dream of capturing and subjugating Ukraine. To protect itself, Kyiv must promote the idea of NATO membership for Ukraine as the “cheapest” possible security guarantee.

“I really believe that these are the cheapest security guarantees that Ukraine can get, the cheapest for everyone,” Zelenskyy said. “It will be a signal that it is not for Russia to decide who should be in NATO and who should not, but for the United States of America to decide. I think this is a great victory for Trump.”

Hopefully he’s listening.