Letter to the Editor of the NY Times, By Irwin Redlener
Re “Zelensky Will Engage on a U.S. Peace Plan” (news article, Nov. 21):
We shouldn’t be surprised that President Trump’s so-called peace plan to end the war in Ukraine is essentially a point-by-point capitulation to demands that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has been making since he first realized that a quick victory after the full-scale invasion in February 2022 would not be possible.
This conflict — an unjustified war initiated by a geopolitical bully — has created the worst carnage in Europe since World War II. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians have been killed or wounded. Total casualties to Russia’s mostly young fighters are estimated to be more than one million.
The mass murders, the unrelenting attacks on civilian targets and the kidnapping of tens of thousands of Ukrainian children by Mr. Putin’s forces have made Russia an international pariah.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine acknowledged that deciding on the proposed plan amounted to “one of the most difficult moments in our history.” While most Ukrainians support a brokered end to the war, they also strongly oppose giving in to Russia’s irrational demands.
Ukraine’s sovereignty, security and democracy should all be nonnegotiable. A strong Ukraine is critical to the security of the United States and Europe. Mr. Putin, who has been charged by the International Criminal Court with war crimes, should not be rewarded with the proposed concessions — no matter what Donald Trump thinks might earn him that Nobel Peace Prize he has coveted since regaining the White House.
