European Solidarity criticises Honcharenko's ideas on peace deal with Russia

Criticism of MP's initiatives

The political force "European Solidarity" did not approve of the ideas of his faction colleague Oleksandr Honcharenko. The MP had previously proposed concluding a peace agreement with Russia that would involve abandoning the course towards NATO membership and granting certain preferences to the Russian language. These statements sparked a heated discussion among party members.

Sharp reaction from Volodymyr Viatrovyk

Former head of the Institute of National Memory and MP Volodymyr Viatrovyk called Honcharenko's proposals unacceptable. In his words, such steps are not conducting negotiations, but rather resemble begging for mercy.

«Те, що пропонує Олексій Гончаренко – це не вести переговори, а благати про пощаду, добровільно підставляючи шию під ніж вбивці. Подібне вже відбувалося сто років тому. Більше такого не повториться!» (What Oleksandr Honcharenko is proposing is not conducting negotiations, but begging for mercy, voluntarily sticking one's neck under the killer's knife. Something similar happened a hundred years ago. It will not happen again!), – noted Viatrovyk.

Honcharenko's response: microhistory versus grand narratives

In response, Oleksandr Honcharenko accused Viatrovyk of being too focused on historical narratives and failing to notice the real problems of ordinary citizens. The MP explained that he assesses the current situation through the prism of "microhistory".

«Володимир дивиться на нинішню ситуацію крізь призму гранд-наративу. Це теж важливо. А я оцінюю її з позиції мікроісторії. Я бачу маму в Харкові, батька в Одесі, бабусю у Львові, дідуся в Ужгороді, дитину у Вінниці. Розвиток України я бачу в тому, щоб усі ці люди були щасливі. Щоб вони жили в мирі. Щоб не знищили «Нову пошту» і замість неї не прийшла німецька. Щоб ми виплавляли сталь, будували машини, літали в космос, зводили АЕС. Щоб книги українською виходили мільйонними тиражами, а не 5 тисяч вважалися успіхом» (Volodymyr looks at the current situation through the prism of a grand narrative. That is also important. But I assess it from the position of microhistory. I see a mother in Kharkiv, a father in Odesa, a grandmother in Lviv, a grandfather in Uzhhorod, a child in Vinnytsia. I see the development of Ukraine in all these people being happy. So that they live in peace. So that "Nova Poshta" is not destroyed and a German one does not come instead. So that we smelt steel, build cars, fly into space, build nuclear power plants. So that books in Ukrainian are published in millions of copies, and not 5,000 being considered a success), – wrote the deputy.

Honcharenko added that geography cannot be changed, so it is necessary to act wisely. In this context, he recalled the Minsk Agreements signed by Petro Poroshenko, which, according to the MP, allowed Ukraine to survive as a state.

Comments from other political forces

MP from "Servant of the People" Buzhansky also commented on this discussion. He noted that Honcharenko proposes to be "a little less cave-dwelling", while Viatrovyk considers any concessions to be capitulation.

Buzhansky drew a comparison, calling Honcharenko's behaviour similar to the actions of Stepan Bandera, and Viatrovyk's position – to the policy of Poland in the 1930s towards Ukrainians.

«Степан Бандера, культ якого В’ятрович просуває вже 12 років, суттю своїх претензій до Польщі називав жорстке і тотальне ущемлення прав українців, у тому числі за мовною ознакою. На суді він відмовився виступати польською, говорячи лише рідною українською. Але вже за десять днів В’ятрович проголосує за закон про освіту, який прямо заперечує права носіїв російської мови. Іншими словами, у цій історії Гончаренко поводиться як Бандера, а історик В’ятрович – як Польща 30-х років минулого століття щодо українців. Це було б дуже смішно, якби не відбувалося з нами» (Stepan Bandera, whose cult Viatrovyk has been promoting for 12 years, called the essence of his claims against Poland the harsh and total infringement of the rights of Ukrainians, including on linguistic grounds. At the trial, he refused to speak Polish, speaking only his native Ukrainian. But in just ten days, Viatrovyk will vote for the education law that directly denies the rights of Russian speakers. In other words, in this story, Honcharenko behaves like Bandera, and historian Viatrovyk – like Poland of the 1930s towards Ukrainians. It would be very funny if it were not happening to us), – emphasised Buzhansky.

It was previously revealed that Honcharenko had published a series of posts with a so-called "peace package", where he detailed his views on abandoning the NATO course and special conditions for the Russian language.