There will be no concessions to Putin; Ukraine is following Churchill's path, says Igor Eidman.

The Path of Churchill

In May 1940, Churchill stated (this was his first speech as Prime Minister): "We are facing a most difficult trial. We have many long months of struggle and suffering ahead of us. You may ask, what is our course? I will answer: our course is to wage war at sea, on land, and in the air, with all our might and with all the strength that God gives us; to wage war against the monstrous tyranny that surpasses any examples from the dark and lamentable history of human crimes. This is our course. You may ask, what is our goal? I will answer in one word: victory, victory at any cost, victory despite all horrors, victory, no matter how long and hard the road to it may be; because without victory we cannot survive."

Behind the UK lay almost two years of humiliating defeats, and ahead were more than two years of military failures, while at that very moment, the Germans were crushing the British in France. Soon France fell, and the UK was left alone against Nazi Germany for over a year. The Nazis waged a war of annihilation against the UK, and initially, British counterattacks could not even come close to matching the destructive power of the German assaults. However, the UK overcame all difficulties, defeated Hitler's "monstrous tyranny," and defended its freedom and dignity.

Would the UK have triumphed if it had waited for peace from Hitler or hoped for protection from Roosevelt, or allowed capitulators to scream that all was lost and defeat was inevitable? I am sure the answer is no. The British won because, despite temporary setbacks, they believed in victory and were able to mobilize all their resources for it.

The military and foreign policy situation in Ukraine is now many times better than it was for the UK back then. Military setbacks are localized. In 2024, despite all efforts, Russia has still been unable to reclaim the territories liberated by Ukrainians in 2022, and even part of its own Kursk region.

Defeats first occur in the mind, and only then do they manifest on the battlefield. Many so-called pro-Ukrainian talking heads speak of the inevitability of concessions to Putin, or wait for salvation from Trump, or hope for some miraculous end to the war at the wave of a magic wand, that is, Trump's wand. However, none of this will happen. Putin needs Ukraine’s capitulation; any imitation of a peace process will merely serve as a smokescreen for escalating Russian aggression. Ukraine can only survive by defeating Putin's Russia, and this task is more realistic than the one Churchill faced in 1940. Glory to Ukraine!