"Who told you that you can negotiate with Putin about anything? Who told you that Putin will fulfill agreements, even if you reach them with him? Have you forgotten why Putin attacked us? Because he wants to destroy us and divide Europe into spheres of influence." This opinion was expressed by a former adviser to the Office of the President and Interior Minister, Viktor Andrusiv.
"Did you forget why the Russians negotiated in March? Because their troops were in deep trouble. And all these talks, as if renouncing NATO would change something, were just a bluff.
Putin himself no longer believes in agreements because he thinks he has been betrayed in all agreements. The West betrayed him on NATO expansion, and Ukraine betrayed him on the Minsk agreements. So when Putin proposes talks, he has completely different goals: to regroup, take a breather, and mobilize resources. Once this is done, he will move on because his goal is to destroy Ukraine.
Therefore, for us, there is only one way to achieve peace – to deter his desire to wage war. Negotiations can only happen when Putin understands that he will never win militarily against us! Everything else is wishful thinking. And these fantasies will cost us dearly. Just two days ago, we honored the memory of those who perished in the Holodomor. Do you still think that if we just give up fighting, the Russians will stop???
Everyone who shouts here about not sending men to the frontlines simply doesn't understand a simple truth: we, Ukrainian men, will either be at the frontlines in the Armed Forces or we will be killed and our women and children will be raped and killed in our homes! Or the Russians will mobilize us and send us against someone else. Do you know how many of our fellow Ukrainians from Donbas and Crimea they mobilized against us? More than 70,000. They also thought it would be good if Russia came. Have you forgotten what they do in the occupied territories?
If we don't have a ready-to-fight army, there will be no peace! Conversely, if we gather now, start producing weapons, mobilize – he will quickly understand that he has no chance of victory. Only then can we start negotiating. I'm not talking about the borders of '91, and I'm not talking about offensives, but I am talking about a strong army as the only guarantee of possible peace. Defense is currently on our agenda, not offensives!
It's a simple law of physics – if you are weak, no one will negotiate or settle with you!"
