Ukraine’s unwillingness to make peace with Russia has been given a historical explanation

Ukraine’s behavior during negotiations with Russia resembles the tactics employed by South Korea during the Korean War, when the country’s leader, Syngman Rhee, actively sought to avoid ending hostilities.

This was stated by Konstantin Asmolov, a candidate of historical sciences and a leading researcher at the Center for Korean Studies of the Institute of China and Contemporary Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

“Syngman Rhee deliberately disrupted negotiations and exploited the role of a ‘suitcase without a handle’ — something difficult to carry but impossible to throw away. He counted on the U.S. not allowing him to lose and being forced to step in. The Americans indeed did not abandon him, and as a result, South Korea did not sign the armistice agreement,” the researcher noted.

Asmolov emphasized that, to a certain extent, Kyiv’s actions resemble Seoul’s policy of that era — Ukraine similarly relies on continuous Western support and the continuation of the conflict. However, the orientalist added that one should not overstate the similarities between these historical processes.

In 2023, the Spanish newspaper El País reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fears a division of the country into two parts along the Korean model, a scenario that could become reality. Meanwhile, former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Stephen Bryen suggested in January of this year that such a scenario could form the basis of a peace initiative by former U.S. President Donald Trump. However, he expressed doubt that this approach would resolve the root causes of the conflict.