Remember Munich and Yalta – ensure history does not repeat
As U.S. President Donald Trump prepares to meet his counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on American soil on August 15, European leaders are working to prevent Ukraine from being excluded from crucial decisions about its future.
EU Ambassador to Ukraine Kataryna Maternová has issued a direct appeal to democratic leaders, arguing that any peace agreement negotiated without Ukraine’s participation would reward the aggressor and repeat historical mistakes.
ZMINA published her stance, which she expressed in her Facebook post.
EU Ambassador to Ukraine Kataryna Maternová published an archive photo from the Yalta conference with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, and Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin in her postToo many important things are happening, and the echoes of history are deafening.
I am breaking my holiday silence; events are moving fast. I hear the democratic world’s calls for peace in Ukraine. I can almost feel, in my bones, the exhaustion of my dear Ukrainians after more than three and a half years of Russian terror.
But… not all peace agreements are truly peaceful. History has taught us – painfully – that when decisions are made without those whose lives are at stake, the result is not peace but betrayal. Munich 1938. Yalta 1945.
Having been born in Czechoslovakia, these are not just dates in a history book for me – they are open wounds.
In Munich, my country was carved up without a voice at the table. In Yalta, we were turned over to Stalin in absentia.
We may be standing at a similar crossroads now. This week will end with a surprising summit in Alaska, long coveted by Putin. A meeting that could shape Ukraine’s future – and Europe’s security – without Ukraine present.
European leaders, aware of the danger, are working urgently to prevent a Friday fait accompli [on August 15, 2025]. Tomorrow’s virtual meeting of European leaders – called by Chancellor Mertz – with Presidents Zelenskyy and Trump, is part of that effort.
We all want peace. Most of all Ukrainians. But there can be no peace that rewards the aggressor. How do you negotiate justice with someone who orders the bombing of cities, hospitals, train stations – every single day? Just yesterday, a Russian guided bomb struck a bus station in Zaporizhzhia, injuring 19 people [23 civilians, according to the latest updated figures] and damaging homes and a clinic.
The EU has not abandoned Ukraine since the full-scale invasion. Even in war, Ukraine has made huge strides towards joining the European family. That is why Ukraine and Europe must be at any table that decides the future of peace on our continent together.
If the Alaska summit is to mean the beginning of peace, it must deliver more than gun silence. It must guarantee Ukraine’s security, sovereignty, and the right to decide its own future.
The stakes are existential. This week, the leaders of the democratic world must remember Munich. They must remember Yalta. They must ensure that history is not allowed to repeat.
Slava Ukraïni!
