Donald Trump’s talks with Vladimir Putin appear similar to the appeasement of Adolf Hitler in 1938, a high-ranking Ukrainian MP has claimed.
Oleksandr Merezhko, who chairs the foreign affairs committee in Kyiv warned that the American President had fallen into Moscow’s trap by abandoning calls for an immediate ceasefire and accused the US of “playing into Vladimir Putin’s hands”.
“It looks like Munich 1938,” Mr Merezhko told The Telegraph, invoking the notorious conference where Britain and France permitted Nazi Germany to annex Czechoslovakia’s Sudetenland.
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The comparison references then-Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s failed attempt to prevent conflict through territorial concessions to Hitler, a strategy that historians argued ultimately emboldened Nazi aggression.
The Ukrainian official characterised Mr Trump’s endorsement of President Putin’s peace proposal framework as a potential act of disloyalty to Ukraine.
Mr Merezhko explained: “If Trump is serious about supporting Putin’s peace treaty idea without calling for a ceasefire first, then it looks very much like a betrayal.”
Following discussions with the Russian president at an Alaska summit, Mr Trump announced his agreement with Putin’s approach of pursuing a comprehensive peace settlement rather than a temporary cessation of hostilities.
This shift in position has caused significant distress in Ukraine, with Mr Merezhko suggesting the American leader had been deceived by Putin’s diplomatic manoeuvring.
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Donald Trump’s talks with Vladimir Putin look like the historical appeasement of Adolf Hitler in 1938, according to a high-ranking Ukrainian parliamentary official
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REUTERS
Ukrainian citizens have voiced their distress at the cordial reception Putin received during the Alaska summit.
A bereaved couple, Olena and Yuriy, whose son died in the conflict, expressed revulsion while placing his photograph at Kyiv’s memorial wall for fallen soldiers.
Yuriy said: “The soldiers of the United States of America were unrolling this red carpet before Putin.
“For what reason is a person given such respect, who actually invaded our country?”
The comparison references Neville Chamberlain’s failed attempt to prevent conflict through territorial concessions to Hitler, a strategy that historians argued ultimately emboldened Nazi aggression
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GETTY
Local residents gathering at a Kyiv café shared similar sentiments about the diplomatic proceedings.
“We are supposed to be allies,” remarked 39-year-old Yevgheny Sofychuk during his morning coffee.
He added: “They behaved in a way that suggests they [Russia] are better.”
The summit’s aftermath revealed proposals for Ukraine to surrender the entire Donbas region, encompassing Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, in return for security assurances outside NATO membership.
Oleksandr Merezhko (middle) chairs the foreign affairs committee in Ukraine’s parliament
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Reactions amongst Kyiv residents remain divided regarding potential territorial compromises.
Katerina, 35, said: “Our boys have been fighting and dying and they will never give away those territories.”
However, Serhii, 44, advocated for democratic consultation, suggesting a nationwide referendum might resolve the dilemma.
Despite diplomatic pressures, some Ukrainians maintain an unwavering resolve.
Zelensky will meet Trump on Monday in Washington
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President Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky are set to meet in Washington on Monday.
Following the Alaska summit, the Ukrainian leader said that he had a “long and substantive conversation” with President Trump before inviting European leaders to join them.
The call, including about an hour of his bilateral conversation with President Trump, lasted for more than an hour and a half, according to President Zelensky.
