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Former Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov has warned his Western colleagues that negotiations with Moscow will not bring peace.
In an article for The Guardian, he explains that Vladimir Putin is determined to completely destroy Ukraine and "assimilate" its citizens into the Russian Federation.
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Reznikov, who was recently dismissed by President Volodymyr Zelensky, notes that any "agreement" with the Kremlin would not end the conflict.
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"Russia demands recognition of the occupied territories of Ukraine as its own territory in exchange for the end of the war," he writes.
He draws parallels with the eve of World War II and compares Ukraine's demands for territorial concessions to the international demands of 1938 for Czechoslovakia to cede the Sudetenland to Nazi Germany.
Reznikov emphasizes that such actions did not stop Hitler and that Putin's actions follow a similar pattern.
Reznikov resigned due to procurement scandals in the Ministry of Defense, although he was not personally involved in corruption schemes. Diplomatic sources suggest that he could be the next Ukrainian ambassador to the UK.
The ex-minister's remarks come at a time when the Ukrainian counteroffensive is slowly progressing.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who recently visited Kyiv and pledged $1 billion in new military aid, said that the prospects for "meaningful diplomacy" with Moscow are slim.
Some Western allies have suggested that Ukraine needs to compromise. Stian Jenssen, a senior NATO official, sparked outrage in Kiev when he suggested Ukraine could cede land to Russia in exchange for peace and NATO membership.
