March 25, 2023
Putin’s Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine has been going on for the second year. During this time, many words have been said that the goal of the Putin regime is to overthrow the world order based on the rule of law and establish a “new world order” based on the rule of force.
Behind these political abstractions are the bombed-out drama theater in Mariupol, mass graves in Bucha, civilians killed by a rocket that hit a residential building in Dnipro. And then there are the torture basements wherever the Russian occupiers have been. Millions of refugees, Ukrainian children torn from their native environment for forced “remaking into Russians”. This is what Vladimir Putin’s “new world” looks like.
Putin is waging a war for a world order in which entire nations can be declared artificial and “non-subjective,” that is, inferior. It is possible to attack neighboring countries, massacring their citizens and making life miserable for the survivors. You can take other people’s property by force. Putin is waging a war for a world order in which he can do this.
Ultimately, this is a war between people who believe they can do it and people who believe no one can. There is no place for neutrality in this war. Refusal to unequivocally take the side of the victim of aggression means aiding the aggressor. In this regard, we declare the following:
1. We believe in the possibility of peace based on law, justice, equality of peoples and freedom of choice. A world in which one cannot attack neighbors and take what is not theirs.
2. We reject calls to take into account the “concerns” and “interests” of the aggressor. No “concerns” and “interests” (by which the aggressor understands the “right” to dictate its will to others) can justify an attack on a neighbor that sows death and destruction.
3. We reject the calls of supposed peacekeepers for an immediate ceasefire without preconditions. This will not “freeze” the war, but only the “success” of the aggressor. We reject the advice of various do-gooders to “give Putin something” so that he can “get out of the situation saving face”.
4. The aggressor should not “save face”. The aggressor should not get anything. Neither Ukrainian territories, nor agreements that restrict Ukraine’s sovereign right to determine its domestic and foreign policy, to freely choose its friends and allies. This is what justice demands. We demand justice.
5. By unleashing an aggressive war, Putin and his henchmen have encroached on the legal and moral foundations of the modern world order. This is a crime against all of humanity. We believe that, in addition to being charged with specific war crimes and crimes against humanity, Putin and his henchmen should be charged with a “crime against peace”, which is the preparation, launching and waging of an aggressive war.
6. We strongly support the charges brought by the International Criminal Court in The Hague against Putin, as well as the idea of establishing a special international tribunal to prosecute the crime of aggression against Ukraine committed by the political and military leadership of the Russian Federation. It is important that the trial of Putin and his entourage takes place in practice.
7. We ask the international community to exert maximum pressure on the Putin regime in order to: a) secure the release of all Ukrainian prisoners of war held in captivity; b) secure the return of all forcibly deported Ukrainian citizens, especially Ukrainian children.
8. We call on the countries of the Free World to declare the Wagner PMC a terrorist organization and to begin implementing measures aimed at stopping the activities of this organization outside the Russian Federation.
9. We call on the countries of the broad anti-Putin coalition to ensure radiation and nuclear safety of Ukraine and the whole world in practice.
10. We are convinced that Russia will be able to achieve a just and lasting peace, compensate Ukraine for the damage it has caused and give up its claims to dominate other nations, only by overthrowing Putin and his clique. We call on the citizens of Russia to bring the liberation of their country closer by resisting the criminal regime in all forms available to them, whether it is refusing to cooperate with the authorities, publicly condemning the war, or avoiding service in the aggressor’s army.
11. We call on the international community to prevent Russia from assuming the presidency of the UN Security Council.