Stand with Ukraine; End this War

Last week Ukraine fired long-range missiles provided by the US and Britain into Russia. In response, Russia launched an experimental nuclear-capable ballistic missile into Ukraine– a weapon capable of striking any location in Europe while evading air defense systems. The US has also authorized the use of anti-personnel mines by Ukraine, a move widely condemned by human rights groups because of the high and long term risk to civilians. And a few days ago Russia reportedly launched an attack of almost 200 drones into Ukraine, the biggest such attack yet. 

This escalation is taking place alongside plummeting support for fighting by the Ukrainian people. According to a recent Gallup survey, only 38% of Ukrainians support continuing this war with Russia. In the eastern regions of Ukraine that are closest to the battlefront, support for the war is even lower; for example, in the Donetsk oblast, which Russia annexed in 2022, support to continue fighting is at just 27%. 

Already civilian casualties have reached over 12,000 in Ukraine. Why are we fighting with evermore dangerous tactics and risking further casualties when Ukrainians no longer support fighting and the Biden administration’s own officials do not think the move to long-range missiles will change the course of the war?

We agree with the UN’s Assistant Secretary General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas, Miroslav Jenča, who on November 27th stated:

The cost of this war is already too high for the people of Ukraine, and for the world – and it is growing by the day. We must reverse the dangerous cycle of escalation.

The time has come to negotiate in good faith towards a just and lasting peace.