Three Years Since the Invasion of Ukraine: Peace Now, No to Imperialisms

On February 24, 2022, a new large-scale military aggression against Ukraine began, an invasion that has shaken the international landscape and exposed the geopolitical tensions of our time. Three years later, the conflict continues, with nearly 4 million people displaced within the country and, according to unofficial sources, close to 1 million killed or injured in Russia and Ukraine, including civilian casualties.

Discussions about the war in Ukraine are taking place without its main protagonists: the Ukrainian society and its political representatives. Negotiations occur in spaces where Ukraine has no real presence, while major powers attempt to appropriate the concept of peace to conceal their economic and geopolitical interests, justifying their actions through self-serving narratives. We are deeply concerned that the term “peace” is being used as a rhetorical tool to justify power balances without ensuring justice or rights for the victims of this war.

Given this situation, we believe it is essential to:

• Ensure the real inclusion of the Ukrainian government in any peace process, guaranteeing that its sovereignty and the will of its people are respected in any agreement.
• Urge the European Union and its member states to defend a just and sustainable peace, based on respect for people’s rights rather than the expansionist interests of major powers.
• Recognize the need to involve Ukrainian civil society in any peace-building initiatives, especially the voices of women, who have played a crucial role in maintaining Ukrainian society over the past three years. Any recovery and reconstruction strategy must be based on the needs of local communities.
• Uphold International Humanitarian Law, protecting civilians and ensuring human dignity above any military strategy.
• Explicitly reject all forms of imperialism, whether from Russia, the United States, or any other power seeking to exploit this conflict for its geopolitical interests.
• Encourage the European Union and its members to prioritize de-escalation, avoiding threatening rhetoric and an arms race fueled by NATO interests and the Trump administration. Now is the time to open the doors to dialogue and mutual trust, aiming to resolve conflicts through diplomacy, negotiation, cooperation, and nonviolence.
• Halt the increasing military spending by NATO and the global militarization, which only leads to more wars and instability, redirecting these resources toward social justice policies.

We call on all municipal, regional, national, and European administrations to promote peace-oriented policies, following the mandate of the United Nations’ New Agenda for Peace, focusing their interventions on human security through tools such as mediation, diplomacy, human rights advocacy, and civilian intervention in conflicts to build peace.

Three years after the invasion of Ukraine began, we raise our voices to say: no invasions, no imperialisms, and no agreements that sideline society.

We demand a just and sustainable peace!