Merz compares Putin to Hitler, warns the war will not stop if Ukraine falls
Photo: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (Vitalii Nosach/RBC-Ukraine)
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz compared Russian leader Vladimir Putin to German dictator Adolf Hitler, drawing a parallel between the Kremlin's demands on Kyiv and the situation in Europe in 1938, during his speech at the CDU/CSU party conference on December 13.
Merz recalled 1938, when France and Great Britain forced Czechoslovakia to cede the Sudetenland to Nazi Germany and Hitler, believing this would prevent war in Europe.
However, the concessions failed to curb Hitler's ambitions. Six months later, in March 1939, Germany occupied the remaining parts of Czechoslovakia, breaking all its promises.
Given these events, there is no reason to believe that concessions of Donbas territories would satisfy Putin's ambitions, just as the Munich Agreement of 1938 did not satisfy Hitler.
The Chancellor said that this is a Russian aggressive war against Ukraine and against Europe, and that if Ukraine falls, the war will not stop. He added that, just as in 1938, the Sudetenland was not enough and that Putin will not stop.
The US, Ukraine, and Europe continue working on a peace plan. Territorial disputes remain the most challenging issue, as Washington demands ceding the Donbas region, while Ukraine rejects such proposals.
According to Politico, European leaders are considering a 40-kilometer zone between the front lines of Ukraine and Russia as part of a peace agreement. Meanwhile, according to the New York Times, Ukraine rejected the option of ceding Donbas to Russia in its updated plan.
