“O nas, bez nas” is an expression in the Czech, Slovak, and Polish languages that means: “about us, without us.”
The phrase was used to describe the infamous 1938 Munich Agreement, when British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain negotiated with Adolf Hitler about the fate of Czechoslovakia without the presence of Czechoslovakia.
It has also been used to describe the 1945 Yalta agreement, when US President Franklin Roosavelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill negotiated with Josef Stalin about the fate of Poland, without the Poles present.
And in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s phone call with Vladimir Putin this week, in which the fate of Ukraine was discussed without the Ukrainians, this ignominious expression is relevant again, this time in its Ukrainian variant: “Про нас без нас.”
But here’s the thing. Any agreement between Trump and Putin about Ukraine will need buy-in from the Ukrainians, who are saying loud and clear: Нічого про нас без нас – Nothing about us without us. And with Europe stepping up its defense capabilities and assistance to Ukraine, any agreement is going to need European buy-in as well. So what happens next?
On The Power Vertical Podcast this week, host Brian Whitmore speaks with Aleksandr Khara, a former official with the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council who is currently director of the Center for Defense Strategies in Kyiv; and James Sherr, Honorary Fellow at the International Center for Defense and Security in Tallinn. Enjoy…
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SHOW NOTES
The audio clips opening the podcast and the second segment are from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s speech to the European Council on March 20, 2025. The full speech can be accessed here.
The New York Times article, “Canada Prepares to Join E.U. Military Industry Buildup,” that was referenced in the podcast can be accessed here. Anton Shekhovtsov’s article in EUObserver, “The Case for a Pan-European Nuclear Doctrine,” which was discussed on the podcast, can be accessed here.
James Sherr’s recently published work can be accessed here and here.
You can learn more about the Center for Defense Strategies here. Aleksander Khara’s recent publications can be accessed here.
The Power Vertical Newsletter on Substack can be accessed here. Recently published work by Brian Whitmore can be accessed here, here, and here.