THE PETITION

The Issue

A Petition of the Ukrainian People and Their Supporters

November 2026

My name is George Lesche, and I volunteer with ENGin, SELO Ukraine, and GoGlobal — organizations dedicated to uplifting Ukrainian voices and building bridges of education and understanding across the globe.

There is a woman I know as Lena — that's her nickname. She is Ukrainian; she lives in Poland now, but her friends and family are still in Ukraine, living this war every day. Just recently, a missile struck her hometown. When three serious health conditions left me with very little to hold on to, Lena reached me at my lowest moment. She and the wider Ukrainian community saved my life. Now I intend to spend every bit of that strength standing up for them.

Lena is one face of this war. Behind every statistic — every displaced person, every flattened apartment block, every child taken from their home — there is a person with a name, a family, and a story. Let me tell you about some of the people I know.

There is my friend, a Ukrainian refugee now living in Canada. Every week at 9 p.m. we talk, and I help him learn English — one hour at a time, building a new life in a new country while his heart stays in Ukraine.

There is a twenty-year-old I know of — a kid, really — leading a platoon of tanks, fighting to take back his own hometown.

There is another friend, a Ukrainian woman living in Ireland, who has traveled back and forth to Ukraine to see the situation with her own eyes. She came back devastated — shaken by how bad things have gotten, by what the war has done to the places and people she loves.

There is a gentleman named Serhii Uzlov who runs a tourist business in Kyiv and Chernobyl. The war has ruined his livelihood, yet he is fighting to keep his doors open — refusing to let the war take one more thing from him.

And then there are my students. Through ENGin, I tutor Ukrainian learners in English — including one who serves in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, a defender I teach around his duties. Through SELO Ukraine, I support groups that help teachers inside Ukraine communicate in English. And I recently joined GoGlobal's effort to help Ukrainian kids find partnerships — building bridges for the next generation.

There are many more stories like these — courageous people doing extraordinary things under impossible pressure. But they need more than broken promises and a future that is uncertain.

Recently, I've found myself heartbroken listening to my friends and colleagues in Ukraine express their disappointment. They feel neglected and let down by the international community, particularly by the United States, which they perceive to have turned its back on their struggle for freedom and peace. I've witnessed their unwavering resilience and tireless dedication — yet they are desperate for solidarity, not strategy papers.

I've seen the power of unity in my own life: through multiple UN Remote Assignments, and through fundraising for educational initiatives in Ugandan and Tanzanian schools. Ordinary people, giving what they can, changed lives — including mine. I know the capacity and willingness of global citizens to make a profound difference when action is coupled with compassion. We cannot afford to let these voices go unheard.

THE PETITION

To the Heads of State and Government of the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Japan, and all nations committed to the UN Charter; to the Secretary-General of the United Nations; to the Secretary General of NATO; to the Permanent Missions of Ukraine and of UN Member States to the United Nations; and to every world leader who still believes that sovereignty, freedom, and human life are worth defending:

WHEREAS, Ukraine — a sovereign, democratic, peaceful nation — was subjected to a full-scale invasion by the Russian Federation, an act of aggression condemned by the United Nations General Assembly;

WHEREAS, for nearly five years the Ukrainian people have endured missile and drone attacks on civilian cities and energy infrastructure, the kidnapping of thousands of children, and the displacement of millions;

WHEREAS, humanitarian needs inside and around Ukraine — medical care, winter heating, housing for the displaced, education, and trauma support — far exceed what current funding levels can reach, even as the United States has withdrawn, frozen, or conditioned critical assistance, leaving ordinary Ukrainians exposed at their most desperate hour;

WHEREAS, there is no military solution that will bring this war to a just and lasting end; history shows that durable peace after conflict is secured through international peacekeeping under the authority of the United Nations;

WHEREAS, Ukraine itself has formally requested United Nations peacekeeping for its territory, so that the consent of the affected state required by the Charter is already in place, and the obstacle to such a mission is not the Charter but the veto of a party to the conflict;

THEREFORE, we — the undersigned citizens of Ukraine and people of conscience around the world — respectfully but urgently call upon world leaders to:

1. SUSTAIN AND EXPAND HUMANITARIAN AID. Commit funding — bilateral and multilateral — for healthcare, medical care and rehabilitation, winter heating, energy restoration, housing for the displaced, food security, and trauma and psychosocial support, so that no Ukrainian freezes, goes hungry, or is left without care this winter. Fill the gap left by the withdrawal of American assistance.

2. KEEP CHILDREN SAFE AND BRING THEM HOME. Demand the immediate return of all Ukrainian children forcibly deported to Russia, and fund tracing, protection, and family-reunification programs for every affected child.

3. REBUILD CIVILIAN LIFE. Support the restoration of schools, hospitals, and homes, and invest in sustainable infrastructure and education so that Ukrainian communities can rebuild their nation from the ground up and raise the next generation in safety.

4. ENSURE TRANSPARENT, ACCOUNTABLE DELIVERY. Guarantee transparent allocation and distribution of resources, so that aid reaches the people who need it most, promptly and efficiently.

5. GUARANTEE UKRAINE'S FUTURE. Commit to security guarantees and a clear, irreversible path to a just and lasting peace — one that protects Ukraine's sovereignty within its internationally recognized 1991 borders, including Crimea, and that is decided by Ukrainians alone, not imposed upon them.

6. WORK TOWARD A UNITED NATIONS PEACEKEEPING FORCE — BY A LAWFUL PATH THAT CANNOT BE VETOED. Recognize that the only path to a just and lasting end to this war is a UN peacekeeping force, with a mandate, personnel, and resources sufficient to protect civilians and guarantee peace once hostilities cease. We therefore call upon the United Nations and its Member States to:

(a) INVOKE ARTICLE 27(3) OF THE UN CHARTER. Ask the Security Council to apply the rule — long dormant but never repealed — that a Council member which is a party to a dispute "shall not vote" on Chapter VI matters concerning that dispute, so that decisions on Ukraine's peace and security are not blocked by the veto of a party to the conflict;

(b) CONVENE UNDER "UNITING FOR PEACE." Should the Council remain unable to act, ask the General Assembly to convene under Resolution 377 A (V) and recommend the establishment of a United Nations peacekeeping mission for Ukraine, based on the consent of the affected state, to be activated upon a ceasefire;

(c) PLEDGE IN ADVANCE. Ask every government receiving this petition to state in advance its willingness to contribute troops, police, equipment, or funding to such a mission, so that peace — when it comes — can be secured without delay; and

(d) WRITE THE MANDATE FOR PEOPLE. Insist that the protection of civilians, humanitarian corridors, the return of deported children, and transparent delivery of aid be written into that mandate from its first day.

Begin building this consensus today, so that peace — when it comes — holds.

We do not ask you to fight this war for us. We ask you to stand with the people caught inside it — to feed them, heat their homes, heal their wounded, return their children, and work toward the United Nations peacekeeping force that is the only way this war truly ends.

Show that you care about humanity. Let's not let the hopes and dreams of a nation fall into despair. Your signature can be the catalyst for change, proving that we stand in solidarity with Ukraine, ready to support their journey to recovery and long-term peace.

History will remember which leaders stood with a nation fighting for its survival — and which looked away. Stand with Ukraine now.

Respectfully submitted,

The Undersigned — Citizens of Ukraine and Friends of Ukraine Worldwide

This petition will be delivered to: The European Council, the Governments of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Japan, the Office of the UN Secretary-General, the Permanent Missions of Ukraine and of UN Member States to the United Nations, NATO Headquarters, and the European Parliament.

SIGNATURES