Declaration

Recent events have confirmed the urgent need for establishing an immediate cease-fire. The continuation of hostilities compels both warring sides to improve their positions and create daunting threats for the adversary. Both Russian and Ukrainian governments seem to realize that they do not have enough military might to utterly defeat the enemy forces and make them capitulate now. But due to political reasons they are going to fight until they can end the conflict in conditions which can be perceived as a victory by the general public. It leads to the constant escalation of violence and the intensification of the conflict. Ukrainian people are dying, Ukrainian towns, settlements, infrastructure and industrial objects are being demolished, Ukrainian perspectives for postwar development are becoming bleaker. Ukraine can be saved from economic and social disaster only if the hostilities are terminated as soon as possible.

Motivated by our conviction in the necessity of an immediate ceasefire, we have been concentrating our efforts on consultations and discussions with Ukrainian and European experts and politicians who share our views. We are deeply convinced that the governments of Ukraine and Russia might be forced to agree to agree to terminate the hostilities only by joint efforts of the EU, China and the US. We are going to launch a persuasion campaign in cooperation with other expert associations and political activists in order to induce the EU leaders to take the initiative in establishing ceasefire.

We will be grateful for any suggestions and assistance in this undertaking.

We are resuming the publication of IISWU monitorings of Ukrainian political activity which are to be published regularly.