Do not surrender the Donbas fortress towns

Dear Editor, I share Molly Blackall's concerns in "Giving up fortress belt would leave Kyiv exposed to future Putin attack" (i paper 22.11.25). In a realistic world, membership of NATO was always a negotiating ploy and Crimea a ready offering, but retaining an army and the fortress towns on the Donbas was crucial not only for Ukraine's morale, but its security as well. Otherwise we have a Munich-type settlement as in 1938 when Czecholsovakia was forced to surrender the Sudeten territories which included that country's crucial fortifications. As a Pole, I always felt that the defence of Czechoslovak independence should have been crucial to Poland's security, just as Ukraine's independence is now. Yours faithfully Wiktor Moszczynski 88 Isambard Court, Paddlers Avenue, Brentford TW8 8FP, tel 07786471833 Published in The i Paper 24.11.25