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Declaration initiated by the European Network for Solidarity with Ukraine
August 26, 2025
After US president Trump’s “summits” with Putin (August 15) and European leaders (August 18) Ukraine confronts the immediate prospect of an unjust “peace” settlement that rewards the Russian aggressor. If forced on their besieged country, this Trump-Putin “deal” will betray the Ukrainian people’s heroic struggle against Russia’s murderous invasion.
Top-level haggling among the US, Russia and European powers over a possible settlement continues, and may well founder because of stubborn Ukrainian resistance to Trump’s appeasement of Putin.
However, any version of the current “peace” blueprint will grossly violate Ukraine’s democratic and national rights. It will legitimise:
- The violent Russian occupation of a fifth of Ukrainian territory and the swap to Russia of territory and people presently under Ukrainian administration
- The destruction of Ukraine’s towns, schools, hospitals, infrastructure, environment and heritage
- The murder of tens of thousands of Ukrainian citizens and the kidnapping of thousands of Ukrainian children, and
- The genocidal Russification of the occupied territories, and a host of other war crimes.
It will also place the burden of ending the war not on aggressor Russia but on Ukraine, its victim.
The flurry of diplomatic activity in mid-August did not deter Putin, who is determined to gain as much as possible on the battlefield and in negotiations. Lethal drone and missile attacks have increased on Ukraine’s cities and infrastructure, even as Russian foreign minister Lavrov insists that Russia must have a role in guaranteeing Ukraine’s security (and is supported in this by J. D. Vance).
A “settlement” on these terms will not only be a disaster for Ukraine, but a blow against democratic rights and freedoms everywhere, as much as colonising Israel’s genocidal invasion of Gaza.
The European Network for Solidarity with Ukraine (ENSU) therefore calls on supporters of democratic rights to mobilise to help prevent a “peace” deal that can only leave the door open to further Russian aggression. The Ukrainian people must experience a new wave of solidarity like the one that surged after Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion, a wave strong enough to make governments–and politicians facing elections–think long and hard before abandoning Ukraine.
Policy towards Ukraine to date: supporting it just enough to survive
Ukraine’s present dangerous situation is largely the work of Vladimir Putin’s “partner” (his term), Donald Trump. But the hesitations and vacillations of the Biden administration and major European governments and institutions that have most boasted about “standing with Ukraine” also contributed.
Trump has directly sabotaged Ukrainian resistance. US military aid, which was always a useful tool for blackmailing Kyiv, is now far from guaranteed: even when agreed to, Europe will foot the bill. Trump’s Alaskan red‑carpet for war criminal Putin simply accommodated to his aggression: the threat of sanctions was promptly forgotten, “land swaps” (involving hundreds of thousands of human beings) were accepted as part of “a comprehensive peace”, the demand for a ceasefire before negotiations disappeared, the prospect of a return to normal in US-Russia business relations was floated, and any prospect of justice for victims of war crimes just evaporated.
On the European side, the last three years have been marked by the reluctance of the major powers, especially Germany and France, to offend Russia “too much”: Ukraine could have been given longer range missiles, more aircraft and €300 billion in frozen Russian assets. Russia’s “shadow fleet” of rusting oil tankers could have been pursued with much greater vigour.
The overall level of support received by Ukraine after three years has been enough to prevent its defeat but well short of that needed to win the war. The Zelensky government has been left expressing gratitude for what has been given, but also imploring its donors to actually deliver what has been promised and provide what is still lacking.
Time for serious commitment from Europe
Europe’s vacillations must now end in all those areas where its leading powers have so far feared to act. They must first pay attention to Putin when he says what he really thinks: “I’ve said it before, Russians and Ukrainians are one people. In this sense, all of Ukraine is ours. There’s an old rule that wherever a Russian soldier sets foot, that’s ours.” (St Petersburg International Economic Forum, June 20)
They must also stop believing that Trump can be lured over to Ukraine’s side with gross flattery and offers of financial gain. No-one, not even Trump himself, can say what his posture on Ukraine will be tomorrow.
The European Union and the United Kingdom must follow the lead of the Nordic and Baltic countries, whose leaders stated on August 16: “We will continue to arm Ukraine and enhance Europe's defences to deter further Russian aggression. As long as Russia continues its killing we will continue to strengthen sanctions and wider economic measures to put pressure on Russia’s war economy. We stand firm in our unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity.”
Taken seriously–and so Putin understands that Ukrainian resistance really is being boosted–these words can only mean:
- Full and rapid arming of Ukraine, in part sourced from a ban on arming aggressor states like Israel and Saudi Arabia. The quicker and more completely Ukraine can develop its own defence industry and find reliable non-US suppliers of equipment it still cannot manufacture, the better.
- Frozen Russian assets must be immediately transferred to Ukraine and sanctions tightened on Putin’s regime, its supporting oligarchs and European firms directly or indirectly implicated in its war effort.
- The European Union’s timetable for eliminating its dependence on Russian fossil fuels exports must be radically shortened and any firm that provides services to this trade severely sanctioned.
- Prosecution for Russian war crimes must be pursued rigorously.
Solidarity with Ukraine–now more than ever
ENSU holds that the alternative to appeasement of aggression lies in supporting Ukraine’s right to self-determination and self-defence, done in the name of a democratic and united Ukraine free of occupiers.
The defence of Ukraine is also a struggle against authoritarian aggression everywhere. The fate of the peoples of Europe and of the whole world, from Palestine to Ukraine, is at stake. Any position taken by the labour movement and the left that would help Putin (like dropping the call for all Russian forces to leave Ukraine or echoing his demand for a change of regime in Kyiv in the midst of war) would be a stab in the back not only of the Ukrainian people, but of the social and national struggles of all peoples.
Former UK Labour shadow treasurer John McDonnell has explained what is at stake: “This is a critical time in Ukraine’s future. There can be no sell‑out after all the sacrifices made to maintain freedom. It’s time for maximum solidarity.”
No to an imperial peace leading to future wars! Real peace through the defeat of Putin and Trump! Peace through solidarity with Ukraine and among the peoples of Europe and the world!