Martin Wolf ends his article (“There are no good choices on Ukraine”, Opinion, March 9) by reiterating its title, calling for Ukraine not to be abandoned and exhorting us in the west to carry on. He is right on all counts — but they require some qualification.
When it comes to the west’s economic sanctions, “carrying on” is surely second best to capitalising quickly on the unpleasant surprise that their breadth, rapid imposition and evident future replicability will have caused in the Kremlin. Left in place for the long term, they will be circumvented by both the sanctioned and those sanctioning and become perceived as a diminishing threat — the financial equivalent of Vladimir Putin’s stalled 40-mile convoy — as well as feed Putin’s narrative that the west is seeking to annihilate Russia.
While Ukraine should never be abandoned, its friends need to help Volodymyr Zelensky to take, and sell to Ukrainians, the difficult decisions that will be needed to end the war before it destroys and depopulates their cities. A Marshall Plan for the country funded by western nations, the Bretton Woods organisations and, if it can be persuaded to contribute, China, should be promised and implemented upon Russia’s withdrawal. Reparations from the aggressor have emotional appeal but we should all heed the lessons of Versailles.
It may be that only bad choices face Ukraine — and the west — but some are less bad than others. Conceding the Crimea, and parts of Donetsk and Luhansk to Russia, close to what its negotiators have apparently suggested, would do no more than formalise the de facto status quo ante, yet provide Putin with the figleaf that will be needed to prevent him causing more death and destruction. Agreeing to this will perhaps require Zelensky to exhibit greater courage than he has demonstrated in droves thus far because it will involve making painful concessions to the aggressor — but the alternatives are surely worse still.
Charles Mercey
Tellisford, Somerset, UK
Letter: Zelensky has hard choices to bring conflict to a close
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