The participants of Ukraine’s First of December Initiative Group, a coalition of intellectuals, called upon Ukrainian authorities and society to reject an illusory peace at the cost of capitulation, as that will only encourage the enemy’s aggression. The translation of the Ukrainian-language appeal that appears below was prepared by Euromaidan Press; it has been edited by The Ukrainian Weekly for clarity and accuracy.
Though the appeal was issued on March 16, Euromaidan Press notes that it is even more relevant today, as calls for making compromises with Russia have been repeated by pro-Kremlin politician Viktor Medvedchuk in an interview with the Financial Times, and there is a campaign to force Austrian-style neutrality upon Ukraine in exchange for the promise of Russia stopping its war.
What is the nature of the peace for which we long?
The Russian Federation is waging a hybrid war against Ukraine. However, it started long before 2014. The conditions were identical 100 years ago: Soviet Russia incited conflicts within the very heart of Ukraine, and established a puppet regime of the “Soviet government,” deceiving and manipulating leaders such as [Yurii] Kotsiubynskyi and [Mykola] Shchors, through whom they could effect their military interventions. Additionally, a percentage of the political leadership of the Ukrainian National Republic could never free themselves of the illusory dream of establishing a socialist but independent Ukraine under the patronage of a democratic Russia.
It wasn’t long before the true cost of this illusion had to be paid – with the very lives of these leaders, the loss of Ukrainian independence, and the deaths of millions of victims.
The fundamental characteristic of Russia is imperialism. The operative concept of a “democratic Russia” has nothing in common with the real world understanding of democracy, and it never will, unless and until the Russian people experience a cathartic transformation, a liberation from their current national idea and imperialistic essence. In its current form, present-day Russia has no use for an independent Ukraine; it requires Ukraine to be a submissive Little Russia.
In such circumstances, peace is merely a dream.
Any willingness to accept compromise is understood by the Russian government as weakness on the part of the opponent.
They consider all accords to be as worthless as the paper they are written on. Their real weapons are deceit, falsehood and contempt for the norms of international law. They are motivated by the instincts of a violent empire, offended that they have lost their status of “greatness” and will stop at nothing until it is reconstituted.
We must keep this in mind.
Malicious “peacemakers,” both within Ukraine and beyond its borders, expect us to be like docile lambs. Their proposal for “peace” requires a price that is nothing less than our capitulation.
Ivan Franko had a saying that is timely for us now: “Peace is blessed work during times of peace. If you are agitating for peace during turbulent times, you are either a traitor or a coward.”
It is beyond dispute that Ukraine has become fatigued from this war. This endurance of great trials has also strengthened the core of our national identity. We are paying a great price for the right and the possibility to be a free people, and we are becoming much stronger than we ever were in the past.
Now we understand clearly that no one from the outside can ever conquer Ukraine so long as we ourselves do not destroy it from the inside. Consequently, it bothers us tremendously to see the current state of Ukraine’s political class, their greed, their eagerness to take the interests of the government during a time of “painful compromise” and manipulate them for their own benefit; and finally their utter lack of concern for the very basic needs of ordinary people. It also upsets us that the governing elites are devoid of all strategic vision for the future development of our country.
The world doesn’t like the weak, and we have seen this from our own experience. Our only hope is to become strong: spiritually, economically and militarily.
By becoming strong, we can be victorious and we can attain peace.
We seek a dignified peace.
We have no desire for an illusory “peace” obtained in exchange for our national interests; such a “peace” will only encourage our enemy to initiate new acts of aggression.
We want to be a strong, united and free nation, with the strength to stand on our own feet, and with whom others must contend.
The Initiative Group “First of December” was created on the 20th anniversary of the referendum for the independence of Ukraine. It includes senior national intellectuals: Viacheslav Briukhovetsky, Bohdan Hawrylyshyn, Volodymyr Horbulin, Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, Ivan Dzyuba, Myroslav Marynovych, Myroslav Popovych, Yevhen Sverstiuk, Vadym Skurativsky and Ihor Yukhnovsky. Its goal is to promote moral values and work toward the establishment of new rules in Ukraine.