“Soul and body shall we lay down for our liberty,” the Ukrainian anthem says. That line echoed through Kyiv in 2022 as Russia tried and failed to seize the capital in three days. In those first weeks of the war, enlistment queues formed outside recruitment centers, and territorial defense units ran out of spare weapons before they ran out of people.

Three years later, with hundreds of thousands of people dead and wounded, there is much less energy. But as pressure mounts for Ukraine to accept a peace deal apparently loaded with concessions, we must be wary of the future. If any peace agreement leaves space for a future Russian invasion, the Kremlin will likely take the deal. If it does not offer an opportunity for future conquest, Russia will likely walk. Ukraine thus faces a choice about what to do if Russia abandons talks.