Ukraine is desperate for peace, but we won’t sign up to a bogus Russian deal | Andriy Zagorodnyuk

Kissinger is wrong: surrendering territory to appease Russia would have terrible consequences for the whole world

• Andriy Zagorodnyuk is a former Ukrainian defence minister

We Ukrainians want peace more than anyone in the world. For about 100 days, we have been fighting Russian forces on the ground, in the sky, on the sea, and in cyber and information spaces. Defence experts originally gave us little hope of success. They changed their position when we showed our ability to resist. Now we need to demonstrate the strength to hold our course and resist the temptations of a false resolution.

In this existential battle for our future, ostensibly friendly or consoling pundits and politicians persistently suggest we should surrender to achieve peace more quickly. Of course, we do not want a war to take longer than necessary, but we will not get trapped into a bogus deal which will only make things worse.

Andriy Zagorodnyuk is a chairman of the Centre for Defence Strategies, and a former Ukrainian defence minister