A just war is better than an unjust peace

I first came to Turkey in 2014 to work. Russia's war against Ukraine had only recently begun, and the invasion of Crimea was on everyone's mind. At the time, many of my Turkish friends asked me a question that both moved and perplexed me: "What kind of nation are you?" They take your country's lands away from you, and you hand over Crimea to the Russians without a fight? There were, in fact, explanations for this.

During the years of Ukraine's pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych, there were people in the country's top political and military leadership who supported Russia or even had Russian passports, and the Ukrainian army was neither logistically nor strategically and tactically prepared for war, with a very low strike power and combat capability because its armed forces relied primarily on Soviet-era military equipment. These were the reasons for its passive attitude…

However, without going into specifics, I will state that the reason was the Ukrainian administration's indecision, the incompetence of its soldiers, and the weakness of the "young and unstable" state system.

On the other hand, there was "Great Russia," which knew how to defend its national interests, was strong, resolute, and respected for its, albeit unfair, position.

The year is 2022. I'm back in Turkey, and Russia has once again attacked Ukraine in order to realize its imperialist dreams. But it didn't get what it wanted as easily this time.

I'm in Turkey again, and Russia has once again attacked Ukraine in order to fulfill its imperialist ambitions. This time, however, it was unable to easily obtain what it desired.

The question "What will you do after Russia takes Ukraine," which I frequently heard in the early days of the war, was later replaced by the thesis that "Russia has not yet used all of its military power, it has not bombed you like Syria" as the days passed and civilians in Ukraine became accustomed to living in shelters under massive Russian bombing, the argument "Why does the Ukrainian administration torture its people so much, but does not seek reconciliation with Russia?"

When I was first asked this question, I was unable to respond and was perplexed. Until 2014, my friends who asked me, "Why did you give up your lands without a fight?" now seriously asked, "Why are you trying to protect your lands by fighting at the cost of your lives?" At first, I couldn't think of any good arguments to counter this inconsistency.

After hearing the same comments from my friends, experts, and academics, I decided to compile these questions and answer them in order.
Especially now, when Turkey is at the forefront of Ukraine-Russia peace talks.

This must be emphasized again before I share my thoughts.
Let this unjust war end soon. No country is more eager to see a permanent ceasefire declared or even a long-term peace agreement signed than Ukraine. Because, although we did not start this war, we are the side that pays the highest price. In addition to economic damage, we (unlike Russia) value every person's life.

As a result, after all of our people's lives and sacrifices, I believe that every Ukrainian deserves a just peace to end this unjust war.
With a peace that will make similar wars in Ukraine or elsewhere in the future impossible.

Here are my responses to some of the most frequently asked questions I receive daily...

1. "The Ukrainian army is weak; Ukraine cannot win this war"...

Despite some successes, the Ukrainian army remains weak in comparison to the Russian army and has no chance of winning this war in the long run.

The cost of protracted conflicts and unnecessary resistance will be dozens of destroyed cities, hundreds of soldiers, and possibly thousands of civilians. The supply of weapons and logistical assistance from NATO countries is prolonging the war and diverting attention away from a diplomatic solution to this conflict.

In that case, why isn't the Ukrainian government willing to lay down its arms and make a deal with Putin to prevent a large number of deaths?

It is critical to emphasize two points here.

First, Ukraine's armed forces are currently among the most powerful in the world. It outnumbers many NATO countries not in terms of numbers, but of professional level and experience.

More importantly, it is the only army in the world with experience gained in extensive combat operations on its territory (not limited to operations in third countries).

It is the only army that has adopted Russia's tactics and methods in the hot conflicts that began eight years ago in eastern Ukraine and have continued unabated, as well as Russia's "hybrid" war.

Proud to have the world's second-largest army (and having paralyzed many neighboring countries' foreign policy decision-making processes due to fear of this army), "Great Russia" has not even been able to reach the administrative borders of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which have been partially occupied for eight years, let alone take Kyiv, which Russia declared it would "capture in three days."

The level of training, morale, combat equipment and logistics of Ukrainian soldiers has increased many times since 2014, and their incredible creativity in weapon use and accuracy in hitting targets has amazed even the world's top military experts.

It is obvious that in the years between the two wars, there have been noticeable changes in Ukraine's development, including the transition to NATO standards in its armed forces (including the command and control system), and the cooperation that Ukraine has established with partner countries in the field of the defense industry, as well as the received arms assistance, which has increased its military power several times.

Whereas Russia, with its control systems inherited from the Soviet Union, combat tactics, and military administration, exhausting the army with corruption, is attempting to win the war in the twenty-first century using Second World War methods and with completely demoralized personnel.

Second, war crimes, inhuman cases of rape and torture committed by Russian soldiers in Ukraine, the use of all types of prohibited weapons and ammunition, the forcible deportation of more than 1 million Ukrainian civilians from occupied territories to the most remote corners of Russia, and even the establishment of concentration camps modeled after Nazi Germany led to the fact that the events on the ground were called "genocide against Ukrainians."

Under these conditions, Kyiv's "laying down of arms" and compliance with Russia's demands will not only not save civilian lives in Ukraine, but will also result in hundreds of thousands of new innocent victims and suffering.

2. "Ukraine either doesn't want peace or isn't doing enough to bring it closer." Ukraine views dialogue with Russia negatively, pointing to Western countries that are attempting to profit from the war's prolongation.

To begin with, these are baseless allegations that do not reflect the truth and merely repeat the main lines of Russian propaganda.
The only and main reason that the negotiations, which were planned to be held directly or through different countries and international organizations, have reached an impasse in all of the diplomatic formats that have emerged since 2014 (the Normandy Four, the Trilateral Contact Group, and so on) is that the Russian side refused to participate in the negotiations or did not show a constructive approach. Ukraine's President Zelensky has repeatedly invited Putin to face-to-face meetings, but the Russian leader has consistently refused bilateral talks or has left these proposals unanswered. Today, Russia, not Ukraine, is uninterested in President Erdogan's peace process. Despite Russian provocations and violations of agreements, the Ukrainian administration is acting under international law, attempting to resolve the conflict through diplomatic and peaceful means for the past eight years without resorting to force. However, it is the obligation, not the right, of any sovereign state to defend its territory and citizens from a new invasion attempt.

3. "A bad peace is better than a good war."

Because no war ends with a complete victory for one side, both sides must make concessions.
To end the loss of life as soon as possible, Ukraine must be flexible and abandon some principled red lines while keeping Russia's interests in mind.

The pacifism of the "peacekeepers" who defend this thesis sometimes leads to the conclusion that Ukraine must give up some of its lands to achieve peace.

In general, I respond to the words "Ukraine must make concessions in the eastern regions; if it cannot establish peace for eight years, it will be very difficult for it now" with a simple example: "Turkey waged its legitimate struggle, which lasted not eight years, but fifty years, perhaps more, until peace was established in the eastern provinces, and although tens of thousands of people were tortured in this struggle, it still did not agree to give up even an inch of its land."

Because, whether you're dealing with a terrorist organization or a terrorist state, you make concessions on everything except territorial integrity, which is a fundamental principle of international law.

By attempting to end an unjust war with an unjust peace, you set a precedent for a thousand new good wars.

4. "War is of no interest to anyone" "Rivalry and war with Russia do not bring peace to the world" "Despite the aggressive steps taken, normalization of relations with Russia should be carried out as soon as possible"...

I completely agree with the first sentence. The war is uninteresting.
That is why the cost of war must be prohibitively high for the aggressor to wage it again. If this price had been paid in South Ossetia and Abkhazia in 2008, Crimea and Donbas in 2014, and Syria in 2015, we would not be in this situation today.
We don't know if it will be Moldova or Poland after Ukraine. We wouldn't look up ways to avoid nuclear war either.

Unfortunately, the world failed to learn its lessons in 2014 and failed many times until 2022.
However, this lesson was simple enough to be summed up in one sentence.

What happens in Ukraine will not stay in Ukraine.

If an attempted invasion results in a violation of a sovereign state's territorial integrity, it will set off a chain reaction of new invasions. If the perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity are not brought to justice this time, it will legitimize more violence and rape in future conflicts.

If you try to find a balance between the aggressor state and the state that is the victim of its aggression (aside from moral values), the balance of the global security system and the legal system will be thrown off.

If the conditions of peace encourage and do not punish the side that started the war, this will already lay the groundwork for new unjust wars.

Benjamin Franklin had a famous saying that is often quoted today.
"There never was a good war or a bad peace," he said.

It is not true.
Peace can be bad.
This is something that world history teaches us all the time.
If you believe that war is bad, you will also fear bad peace.

Yevgeniya Gaber