Two articles in the Obozrevatel cite Ukrainian historian Yaroslav Hrytsak:
Anastasia Ryabokon, December 18, 2025
The ongoing peace talks are a diplomatic game. Yaroslav Hrytsak, a historian and professor at the Ukrainian Catholic University, explained its purpose in an interview with Telegraf.
"The conditions at the beginning of this year and at the end are different. In words, the parties agree to certain concessions. This, of course, doesn't mean there will be a ceasefire, because the distance between the two sides is too great. As diplomats say, this is the so-called corridor strategy, in which Trump wants to force Ukraine and Russia into a narrow corridor where they will converge," he said.
However, Gritsak emphasized, for this to happen, Trump must be more demanding of Russia. This isn't happening yet. He explains that the Trump administration wants to separate Russia from China. This is precisely why Trump's stance toward Russia is "much softer than toward Ukraine." Furthermore, Trump, who respects only force, believes that "Russia has force, and Ukraine hasn't."
"Peace is impossible as long as Putin exists. I often use the analogy of the Korean War: negotiations began in 1949 and ended only after Stalin's death. That is, the condition [for the completion of negotiations] was the death of Stalin himself," he recalled.
He also analyzed China's actions, which, in his view, is interested in continuing the war, which weakens the West. Trump, however, isn't "hindering, but rather helping."
"Trump's calculations are naive. And Russia has its own interests, even more pressing than China's: to weaken the West as much as possible," the historian said.
He added that the West's weakening could be predicated on Ukraine's defeat and NATO's disunity. Moreover, judging by the new US national security strategy, Russia has "almost succeeded" in the latter.
"But where Putin is struggling is in Ukraine. It is Ukraine that is preventing the implementation of Putin's plan, nor the Chinese, nor the American ones," Gritsak emphasized.
He explained that Putin, for several reasons, refuses to accept Trump's terms for Russia's withdrawal from the war. First, he is "not a rational politician":
"His position on Ukraine is particularly irrational. It can be described in one word: obsession. He simply cannot tolerate the existence of a separate Ukrainian state, a separate nation. He wants to do everything to ensure that it either ceases to exist or is weakened to such an extent that it becomes of no use to anyone, not even Ukrainians."
The second reason Putin refuses Trump's terms is that he will wage war throughout his life in power. He noted that peace with Putin is impossible. "A truce with Putin would be possible if he felt his position was weakening. Does he feel weak now? Unlikely. He thinks it's not he who's weak, but the West, and that he'll push them to the limit," he said.
As the interviewers recalled, Hrytsak had long stated that Ukraine's partners would pressure it to conclude a ceasefire with Russia. He also warned of the "risk of civil war" that proponents of such a plan could provoke. He added that he hoped for common sense in Ukrainian society..."
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"A historian identified the main problem facing Ukraine and Europe in their confrontation with Russia
Irina Nesterova, December 18, 2025
Ukraine is currently effectively defending Europe from Russia, but neither Kyiv nor Brussels has a clear strategy for victory, which is effectively a long and slow path to defeat. This opinion was expressed by historian and professor at the Ukrainian Catholic University Yaroslav Hrytsak in an interview with Telegraf.
He disagreed with the widespread thesis that Europe currently benefits from a protracted war in Ukraine. He argued that "Europe is rather helpless," having become "scared" of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, albeit briefly.
"There was an initial shock, but European governments survived it. Moreover, the resistance of Ukrainian society helped. Many people in Europe said, 'Well, okay, the Ukrainians are holding out, there's no threat,'" the historian explained.
According to him, US President Donald Trump "really scared" Europe by saying that he was no longer interested in it.
"This means that Europe is deprived of protection, and in this situation, oddly enough, Ukraine is Europe's greatest defense right now because it holds the eastern front. Ukraine is buying time for Europe. The only question is whether this time will be enough for Europe to restructure itself and make some radical changes," the professor asserts.
At the same time, he says, this doesn't mean Europe will stop helping us. He says, "The problem is rather that neither Europe nor Ukraine has a strategy for victory": "And the absence of such a strategy, as the textbooks tell us, is a long and slow path to defeat.""
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