21 October 2026

Today, in the world and in our news, a very simple idea is being actively imposed on everyone. It boils down to the fact that the entire war is supposedly centered on some eleven percent of the territory of the Donetsk region. And if only a compromise can be found along these lines, then the war can be easily put on hold.

But this is not just a mistake, it is pure hypocrisy. And this hypocrisy is visible everywhere: in Western statements, in US maneuvers, in the Kremlin’s actions and, unfortunately, in our own information space. Attempts to reduce a huge war for the country’s survival to a dispute over one specific region completely turn a blind eye to Moscow’s real appetites and how Russian tactics actually work.

In Russia, there is constant talk about the need to take into account the so-called realities on the ground. But for Putin, these new realities are not a fixed border line, but a rubber frame that he pushes further and further. Wait, they say, what else is Donetsk Oblast?

And what about the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions? They will say that they voted the same way and these territories should go to them. And this also becomes a significant challenge, because all this is recorded in the Constitution of Ukraine, where these regions are defined within their clear administrative boundaries, and not as they were invented in the Kremlin. And what to do with this component?

This is far from the limit of their desires. The next step will inevitably be the language issue. They will again refer to the Constitution of Ukraine, as well as to our own adopted laws on the languages ​​of national minorities and education in schools. Moscow will expand these demands to the maximum, demanding that Russian be made the second state language in Ukraine.

Next, the long-forgotten topic of federalization will be raised, so that through the regions under its control, Moscow would have the legal right to veto any decisions made by Kyiv.

There will definitely be demands to abandon NATO, reduce the army, and create a demilitarized zone hundreds of kilometers deep into Ukraine. And in their maximum plans, the entire Black Sea coast is considered land that can be wrested at the first opportunity.

Each concession is perceived by the Kremlin not as the finale of the deal, but only as a new start for the next ultimatums. It is simply selling peace in pieces, offering us the illusion of peace in exchange for gradual surrender.

The most surprising thing about this story is that the Ukrainian authorities, with this configuration of negotiations, are actually playing into the hands of the enemy. The composition of the negotiators has practically not changed for years.

The presence of Rustem Umerov in the process, who in 2022 did not have normal diplomatic experience and represented the interests of certain business circles, creates a very convenient trap for the Russians. At every meeting, our side is simply thrust in the face of the Istanbul drafts of 2022, forcing us to make excuses and look for some explanations.

At the same time, a strange pattern of meetings has formed. On the Russian side, people without any state or diplomatic status, such as Kirill Dmitriev, participate in unofficial contacts. This allows Moscow to play a double game. On the one hand, there is a tough official track from Putin or Lavrov with ultimatums, and on the other, backroom conversations of businessmen, where the Russians allegedly show flexibility.

But at any moment, the Kremlin can easily reject the words of its informals, calling it their private opinion.

Here lies the main confusion when people are trying to convince themselves that Putin wants peace. If he really wanted to stop the war, he could do it right now. He doesn’t want peace, he wants the full implementation of his conditions. These are two completely different things. A solid and lasting peace with Russia under the current Putin regime is impossible in principle.

The example of Georgia is very illustrative. Even after the war of 2008, when they signed the papers and effectively gave up Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Moscow did not stop. It simply switched to soft power and within a few years completely restored its political influence on Tbilisi. It is also illustrative how Georgia became a haven for the Russian opposition. This opposition opposes Putin personally, but in relation to other countries it remains absolutely imperial in nature.

In conclusion, we come to the most important mistake that the Ukrainian authorities make in communicating with their own people. Due to the lack of an honest and complete description of Putin’s real plans, the very concept of compromise is distorted in Ukrainian society. When people are shown just this one point, many have a logical question: “Wait, are we really fighting for eleven percent of the Donetsk region, where two hundred thousand people or even less remain? Are these remnants of territory comparable to the human losses, the destruction of the entire rest of the country, and the daily sacrifices that we bear?”

If we narrow the problem down to this one factor, then giving up this piece of land seems like a completely rational step for the sake of saving people. And this is precisely the fundamental error in the government’s communication. By reducing the conversation to one point taken out of context, it itself pushes society to the illusion that giving up a small section of the front will stop the conveyor belt of death. Although in reality, this step will be only the first domino in the destruction of our entire state.

https://war.obozrevatel.com/ukr/section-war/news-11-donechchyny-v-obmin-na-myr-yak-nebezpechna-ilyuziya-mozhe-koshtuvaty-ukrayini-derzhavnosti-21-10-2026.html