Appeasement of Russian Imperial Appetite Will Lead to World War III

Bargaining Ukrainian territories will lead to Russia's war with NATO.

On 15 April, NATO chief of staff Stian Jenssen said that one of the options for Ukraine's upcoming membership in NATO could be Kyiv's renunciation of the Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia. The official noted that Ukraine should decide on its own when and on what terms to negotiate with Russia. 

Russia itself postulates Ukraine's renunciation of the territories seized by the Russian army as a condition for negotiations. However, Putin's actions in Ukraine are not only a threat to Ukraine's sovereignty and independence - they are an act of geopolitical revenge aimed at enslaving the EU and NATO countries neighbouring Russia to become vassals of the Kremlin. In this regard, Europe is under threat: if Putin is not stopped in Ukraine, the war will move to the West, and any territorial concessions will be interpreted by Russia as a sign of weakness encouraging it to escalate hostilitiesю

Russia is a source of increasing risks and threats to Europe. Russian missiles and drones strike very close to EU and NATO countries (the ongoing attacks on the Ukrainian port of Reni, which began immediately after Russia's withdrawal from the grain deal), the movement of the Wagner Group into Belarus, and the increasing number of illegal migrants crossing the border between Belarus and the EU are all part of the hybrid warfare strategy that Russia is already waging against Europe. 

Any flirtation with Putin will have fatal consequences. Let us recall the Munich Agreement of 1938 which led to part of the ancestral Czechoslovak lands being ceded to Nazi Germany. The political elite of Europe believed then that by appeasing Hitler's territorial appetites, they would be able to avoid war. As events showed, this error of judgement was the prologue to the Second World War.

Now the West risks repeating a similar mistake. Putin, like Hitler, understands only force. Territorial concessions to the Kremlin will convince it of Europe's weakness and stimulate it to an even bigger war - this time, with NATO. Europe cannot turn a blind eye to Russia's rapidly growing threat: in 2021, Western politicians stubbornly convinced themselves that Putin would not dare attack Ukraine and we.are now faced with the bloodiest war in Europe in 80 years. 

There can be no doubt that Putin is preparing for further escalation, which will be carried out with the help of hybrid tools, for which all preconditions are being created. The future of Europe depends on the outcome of the war in Ukraine: if the West wants to defend its civilisation, its values and defend itself against Russian aggression, Ukraine must be given everything it needs to defend its freedom, liberate its internationally recognised territories and drive the Russians out of its land.