Every Inch of Territorial Concession Incites Future War

What is so fundamentally wrong about any peace argument that involves territorial concessions

11 May 2023

Oleksandra Drik

Future of Ukraine Fellow

Suggestions that Ukraine should make territorial concessions to obtain peace with Russia have been making the rounds since the start of the war.

Interestingly, they have come from parts of the Republican establishment in the United States, with Ron DeSantis, a likely contender for president in 2024, recently calling Russia’s aggression against a sovereign country a “territorial dispute”.

China, an ally of Russia, offered a “peace plan”, obviously favourable to Moscow, while Brazil’s President Lula da Silva has pitched “a G20 for peace in Ukraine”, urging Kyiv to give away Crimea. Essentially every meeting in the African and South American countries that I visited with advocacy trips in the last six months were arriving at the “we favour peace” argument. For some reason, this craving for peace contains a more or less implicit suggestion  that Ukraine cede its territories or make other sovereignty compromises, such as abandoning the desire to join NATO or the EU to placate Moscow

Subscribe

Democratic security comes at a price. What is yours? By subscribing or donating now gain access to analysis, forecasts and scenarios by leading analysts and reporters who monitor democratic risks and develop policy debate from Central Europe on Central Europe.

MonthlyVAT included

€4/month

See all details

  • Full access to articles and all reports in PDF
  • Weekly outlook on democratic security in CEE delivered by e-mail
  • Weekly newsletter with essential highlights
  • Invitations to all Visegrad Insight events online and offline

AnnualVAT included

€40/year

See all details

  • Individual subscribers only. Check our CORPORATE OFFER below
  • 15% Discount (8 EUR off monthly cost if paid annually)
  • Full access to articles and all reports in PDF
  • Weekly outlook on democratic security in CEE delivered by e-mail
  • Weekly newsletter with essential highlights
  • Invitations to all Visegrad Insight events online and offline

Student OR Donation

Choose your contribution

See all details

  • Full access to articles and all reports in PDF
  • Weekly newsletter with essential highlights
  • Some Visegrad Insight events invitations

I am a representative of an institution/business. Is there a corporate offer?

The annual subscription for up to ten institutional users: EUR 999
GO TO CHECKOUT

For a tailor-made offer email us: contact@visegradinsight.eu 

  • Access to all articles for your team
  • Access to all Reports for your team
  • Every Monday a Weekly Outlook with an update on key developments in Central Europe delivered by e-mail
  • Every Thursday a newsletter with the most important highlights and invitations
  • Personal invitations to Visegrad Insight Events
  • Foresight, policy, and risk analysis reports (on-demand)

Intelligence prepared by a group of Visegrad Insight Fellows from all across

Can I receive an invoice?

Yes. You will receive a receipt immediately after purchase and a VAT invoice upon request. The subscription amount includes tax. In case of a donation, there is no tax.

Are my credit card details safe?

Yes. The payment is processed by STRIPE www.stripe.com entrusted also by Amazon, Zoom, Booking.com and used by other global NGOs and businesses in the world. We do not store your credit card details.

How modify or cancel my subscription?

At any moment you can manage your subscription and account details. Sign in to modify or cancel.

Oleksandra Drik

Future of Ukraine Fellow

Oleksandra Drik (Ukraine) is a Future of Ukraine Fellow at Visegrad Insight and a lawyer, who has been working on accountability reforms in Ukraine since 2014. Since the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, she has been advocating for a comprehensive international system of accountability for war crimes committed in Ukraine. Oleksandra holds an MA in Global Politics and Law from the University of Sheffield (UK), and two Ukrainian degrees in international relations and law from Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University, and has 8 years of background in advocating accountability reforms in Ukraine in governmental, non-governmental sectors and EU projects in Ukraine, including positions in the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, Reforms Delivery office of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, EU Anti-corruption Initiative in Ukraine, NGO and media.

Newsletter

Weekly updates with our latest articles and the editorial commentary.