The graph shows the answer to this question by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology: "Which of these statements regarding possible compromises to achieve peace with Russia do you agree with to a greater extent?"

___________________________________________________________________________________________
Events over the last week have provided even  more reasons for signing and promoting the petition “Ukraine must receive all it needs to win a just peace!” .

With Trump and Putin planning to meet in Budapest–site provided to them by the Putin-friendly Hungarian president Viktor Orban--media speculation has become feverish about the chances of the US and Russian presidents achieving a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The speculation inevitably draws huge interest, especially from all those anxious for a Trump Gaza-style “peace deal” that would make the conflict “go away”... at least for a while.

Ukraine itself has been supporting the call for a ceasefire, but with guarantees that it will not just be a pause helping renewed Russian aggression. For his part, Putin keeps making “offers” to Ukraine via his “partner” Trump, offers Putin knows Ukraine will refuse.

More filth in the Oval Office

The latest episode in this sordid game took place in the Oval Office on Friday, October 17. According to an October 20 Financial Times report: 

“During Friday’s meeting, Trump appeared to have adopted many of Putin’s talking points verbatim, even when they contradicted his own recent statements about Russia’s weaknesses, said European officials briefed on the meeting.

“According to a European official with knowledge of the meeting, Trump told Zelenskyy that Putin had told him the conflict was a ‘special operation, not even a war’, adding that the Ukrainian leader needed to cut a  deal or face destruction.

“The official said that Trump told Zelenskyy he was losing the war, warning: ‘If [Putin] wants it, he will destroy you’.”

So, having previously floated the possibility that the US could supply Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles to power up its attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, Trump now pretended to worry about their destructive power and whether the US would be left with enough of them to defend itself.

Zelenskyy is under pressure to accept a ceasefire that would not only force Ukraine to accept de facto Russian occupation of its invaded lands, but would also make it vulnerable to renewed Russian attack, what one anonymous European official described as “losing a leg for nothing”.

The stubborn fact

Trump’s explanation for his lack of progress in getting Putin and Zelenskyy to agree on a ceasefire is that “they hate each other”, a piece of infantile nonsense that ignores the key stubborn fact of the war: even under lethal and intensifying bombardment from Russian drones and missiles, the majority of Ukrainian people still oppose any territorial concession in exchange for the temporary relief that would be provided by a ceasefire.

After three-and-a-half years of war, the number of Ukrainians prepared to entertain a “land-for-peace swap” has understandably grown (see graph). Putin’s plan is to wage an increasingly brutal offensive on land and in the air in order to “persuade” even more to join that camp. 

In this situation, there is still only one possible response for supporters of the rights of the Ukrainian people: to redouble the pressure on the European powers to provide Ukraine with all it needs to achieve a just peace.

Sign this petition and urge your family, friends and workmates to sign it. Share it through your networks, urging everyone to sign and share!