Before starting World War I, Germany, in preparation for war, established a strict rule not to invade Russia. If he ever has to interfere in any of the Russian territories, he will be confined to Ukraine. Germany needed Ukrainian land, not Russia. Fortunately, the rule was broken only at the end of the war.

Hitler’s slogan in the 1930s was “Germany’s survival”. He argued that the nation needed more territory to survive. Hitler blatantly named Eastern European countries, including Poland, the Czech Republic and Romania, as his targets and said he was ready to wage war against Russia if necessary. . In 1938 Nazi Germany annexed Czechoslovakia. Germany abandoned the Treaty of Versailles and rearmed, becoming the strongest power in Europe. The French armed forces admitted that their German counterpart is stronger and that they could defend against the Germans but could not launch an attack against them. On top of that, the UK and France were still mired in the nightmare of the First World War which claimed some ten million casualties.

The Soviet Union stood out at that time. He fought with the Allied Powers against Germany in World War I. Hitler targeted Poland after occupying Czechoslovakia. And for the Soviet Union, Ukraine could be in danger if Poland were to be seized by Germany, which has set its sights on Ukrainian soil since World War I. Hitler had insisted that the extermination of Marxists was one of the duties of the Nazis.

Aware of this threat, Poland had signed a mutual defense treaty with the Soviet Union. British and French delegations flew to Moscow, in an effort to discourage Hitler’s ambition. It was an irresistible proposition given the circumstances, but Stalin was not so keen on the idea. It turns out that the USSR had another option to keep Ukraine: divide Poland with Germany. Thus was born the German-Soviet secret pact of non-aggression. Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union invaded Poland and split it in two while Britain and France pretended to make counter-efforts.

As the war in Ukraine reaches a stalemate, Russia has begun to threaten Germany, which is heavily dependent on its energy supplies. Will the two shake hands again? Although unlikely this time around, no one can be sure who would betray whom and when. Or maybe in international politics such a concept as treason does not exist.