No Compromises With Moscow

• Victor Tregubov
• 8.10.2026, 15:07

That would be completely foolish.

On Peace Plans and Plans for Peace.

There is one major problem with all the talk about a possible “strategic path to peace” in the war with Russia. The people who talk about this—whether consciously or unconsciously—are proposing a framework as if we were at war with a normal country.

What does the framework for seeking peace with a normal country look like? We define our “red lines” (conditions we will never agree to), and the adversary defines theirs. Then we identify the areas where compromise is possible and proceed with the negotiations. Ironically, this is the very “compromise” that Zelenskyy once proposed (for which he was rightly criticized, to put it mildly).

Why is this approach is categorically unacceptable in a war with Russia?

Because Russia’s strategy—historically, during the Soviet era, and today—is not based on a compromise approach. Simply put—Russia does not negotiate at all. It demands terms of surrender.

Let’s imagine that we are at war with a hypothetical Slovakia over Transcarpathia, and Slovakia has captured a significant part of Transcarpathia. We could negotiate—let’s call a ceasefire, and in exchange, we’ll establish a demarcation line and, say, guarantee local schools for the Slovak-speaking minority in Transcarpathia. That would work.

With Russia, the condition would be to establish the demarcation line and open schools BEFORE NEGOTIATIONS BEGIN. This will be a condition for starting negotiations. Moreover, the line will have to be fixed not as it actually is, but as it is drawn by Russian military headquarters and on television in a fit of feverish delirium. In other words—simply retreat and hand over a piece of territory to them.

So, even if negotiations do begin after that, these concessions won’t be taken into account at all. They’ll be dismissed as “on-the-ground realities,” and Russia will simply refuse to include them on the list of issues up for discussion. A current example is Crimea.
Thus, a concession will be made in exchange for… nothing. Just for the chance to talk. And to hear: “Suffer, you f**ks.” After that, the offensive will resume, but from new positions. So that we’ll have to come to the next round of negotiations with new concessions on our part.

That is precisely why, throughout all these years of war, Russia has not articulated its plan. What are Russia’s official goals in this war? Blah, blah, blah—abstract talk about demilitarization and denazification, into which you can read anything. From nothing to the complete occupation of Ukraine. This vagueness is a deliberate move.

We, on the other hand, are being asked to specify exactly what concessions we’re willing to make. As soon as we do that, it will become the bare minimum of concessions required just to start negotiations. Well, and then, as in the joke—“we already know what you’re offering; it’s just a matter of price.”

That would be utter foolishness.

Viktor Tregubov, “Facebook”