As Trump Brokers Land for Peace, Is History Repeating Itself?

A CIA investigation last week confirmed that Ukraine didn’t target Putin’s house. After CIA Director John Ratcliffe briefed Trump with that information, Trump then did a 180 and posted on his social media that he was now finding himself in agreement with European leaders and their belief that Russia aims to sabotage a peace deal with Ukraine, according to PBS.

Russia Wants Land for Peace, no NATO Membership for Ukraine

Russia made the above claim just as Zelenskyy was preparing to present his 20-point peace proposal to Trump as a counter to Russia’s 28-point plan. Russia’s plan included forcing Ukraine to surrender the land that Russia already occupies. Zelenskyy’s plan includes a request for Western-backed security guarantees, pausing the fighting in areas Russia is pushing to gain but has not yet secured, and the formation of demilitarized zones that international forces would manage. These particular requests have been sticking points that Russia has rejected in the past, according to Fox News.

The security guarantees specified that the U.S. would be providing Ukraine with 15 years upon Congressional approval.  Zelenskyy is hoping to be able to extend this up to 50 years, according to WNG. In the past, Zelenskyy has also pushed for the territories not controlled by Russia to have NATO membership, a move that Russia vehemently protested, according to CFR.

Russia has fought to prevent Ukraine from obtaining NATO membership for many years. Back in 2008, when both Georgia and Ukraine were seeking NATO membership during the NATO Bucharest Summit, Russia began to bomb Georgian villages in spite of an agreed upon ceasefire, according to the War Room Army War College.

Land for Peace Didn’t Prevent World War II

In what some might consider an eerie and potential repeat of history, a London crowd cheered British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain after he returned from a summit with French Prime Minister Deouard Daladier on September 30, 1938. The discussion included agreeing to Hitler’s demands for the Czechoslovakian territory known as Sudetenland to Germany. Hitler’s concession included the assurance to Western allies that he didn’t have additional territorial ambitions. The Western allies trusted his word in spite of the fact that he had taken over and annexed Austria in March 1938, according to The National WWII Museum. 

Then, on March 15, 1939, not even one year after the agreement of land for peace, Hitler’s military completely took over Czechoslovakia. About six months following that, Hitler’s military invaded Poland, which kicked off World War II, and additional countries were invaded.

Most people are familiar with the fact that Hitler had ambitions to wipe out the Jews and anyone who helped them survive. Putin has been known to express his disdain for the Jews, going so far as to accuse “ethnic Jews” of destroying the Russian Orthodox Church. However, the Council of Europe has labeled the Russian Orthodox Church as the Kremlin’s propaganda tool. In addition, multiple European countries have forced Russian Orthodox Church officials to leave their countries because of security concerns, according to Times of Israel.

Putin’s military also tortures and murders Christians in occupied areas of Ukraine. There are hundreds of congregations that have been lost as a result of the persecution. Most Ukrainian Christians are looked on by Russian troops as representatives of America. Since America is viewed as an enemy, they also intimidate Christians and confiscate their property, according to Time.  

The United States was instrumental in bringing an end to World War II and Hitler’s regime. However, that end was reached due to decisive action among the Western allies. Keir Giles, senior consulting fellow with Russia and Eurasia Programme, Chatham House suggests that the war between Russia and Ukraine will continue until the coalition on either Ukraine’s side or Russia’s side (Russia’s includes Iran, China, and North Korea) decides to take decisive actions.

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Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla/Staff

Elizabeth Delaney has been a freelance content writer for over 20 years and has enjoyed having her prose published in both the non-fiction and fiction markets. She has written various types of content, including Christian articles, healthy lifestyle, blog posts, business topics, news articles, product descriptions, and some fiction. She is also a singer-songwriter-musician. When she is not busy with writing or music, she enjoys spending time with friends or family and doing fun social activities such as hiking, swing dancing, concerts, and other activities.