Possible contracts to end Russia’s war against Ukraine include “land exchanges” from both sides, US President Donald Trump said.
The Kiev army does not occupy Russian territory. This means there is no transaction when it comes to repaying Moscow land.
All the lands in question are the territory Russia has occupied in Ukraine since its first invasion in 2014, and Moscow’s all-out war continued in 2022.
If Trump puts pressure on Ukraine to abandon its territory, he will not convince Voldimir Zelensky. Instead, he must convince the people of Ukrainians.
And unlike Trump, Zelensky understands who has the last word.
The country’s civil society has fully demonstrated this, including just a few weeks ago.
Anton Riagusha, director of the Social Sciences and Humanities Department of Kiev Economics, told Euroneus that if Ukrainian authorities are under pressure to make territorial concessions, “will force the Ukrainian people to take them on the streets.”
“This is not a story of protest against the authorities, it is a cry from the Ukrainian people to the whole world, treated as a great nation in the heart of Europe and not just the US considered it a land,” Riagusha said.
“The Ukrainians are a full-fledged country, and Ukraine is a great state with its own laws.”
Riagusha explained that since Ukraine became an independent county, “before the Revolution of Dignity (2014), and the Orange Revolution before it (2004), and the Granite Revolution of 1991, society has clearly established a decisive power when people saw that they did not accept power from an authoritarian perspective and a clear hierarchy.
“The president of Ukrainian society is not the king. This means that his will not determine the will of the entire Ukrainian,” he pointed out.
“We all listen to what society says.”
This balance of power has crystallized even more clearly since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in early 2022.
“People are fighting for invaders, for democracy and for our country to become a member of the European Union and become part of Europe,” he said.
Therefore, even if decided by the participation of the President, these decisions can be confirmed by Ukrainian society through direct street demonstrations. ”
This was once again proven in July when thousands of Ukrainians took them to the streets to protest a bill that could effectively eliminate the independence of the country’s anti-corruption agency.
Thousands of Ukrainians demonstrated Zelensky until several days later proposed a new bill to restore independence of anti-corruption groups.
National protests forced the government to overturn the early bill, even during the Russian all-out war, in a move that was widely seen as a democratic victory in Ukraine.
Protesters revealed that their anger was directed exclusively at the bill, and their demands were limited to restoring anti-corruption groups’ independence.
However, after three revolutions in over 30 years, one of them expelled Russia’s Viktor Yanukovic in 2014, and the Ukrainian president and authorities are extremely sensitive to street voices.
After signing the new bill, Zelensky himself said, “We’re all listening to society. We see what people expect from state agencies, ensuring justice and efficiency for each agency.”
Zelenskyy certainly knows what to expect from Ukrainian civil society if there is pressure to hand over territory. However, it appears that Ukrainian foreign partners, especially the US, do not understand this.
When asked why, Riagsha stated that the reason could be explained by the level of comfort in life.
“Life in the US and many European countries is more or less stable and comfortable,” he explained.
“For a long time, these societies have not had experience with large-scale protests and the high levels of activity seen in Ukrainian civil society.”
Riagsha also points out that Western democracy primarily views Ukrainian civil society as a self-organised group of people who have been created or organized to solve specific tactical problems and problems.
“There is no understanding that volunteer movements, civil society for the protection of human rights, and activists from various fields are truly such a society and the creators of the new Ukrainian state.”