A Neutral Ukraine Is a Dangerous Idea
Even if Kyiv agrees not to align with the West, Putin will have other demands.
As and not-so-secret peace negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv proceed amid fierce fighting, Ukraine’s “neutrality” has reemerged as Vladimir Putin’s key condition for ending the war that he started. The Ukrainians’ supposed lack of neutrality—that is, their repudiation of pro-Moscow rulers and their tilt toward the West—was the Russian president’s excuse for invading. Because Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has to the Kremlin’s demand, the “Finlandization” of Ukraine will, in short order, once again be bruited about as a possible solution—one that the West could accept as a satisfactory resolution to the current crisis and as
