Do Not Appease Evil

A plea from Ukraine

On January 5th an impressive group of Ukrainian public figures appended their signatures to a statement urging the world not to allow itself to appease Russia over its gratuitous military aggrandizement in Ukraine. It’s a fascinating argument, and tallies with the conclusions that General Lord Dannatt (who alerted me to the statement) and I have come to in our new assessment of the Korean War, due to be published this May. The word appeasement is, of course, a morally charged one, with deep resonances in the U.K. to the abject disaster that was 1938. Several of my friends have argued with me over recent years in respect of Russia and Ukraine that the war is merely a playing out of the age-old squabble between nations and states for territory, influence and security. In this struggle (perhaps which we might call the Mearsheimer thesis), ‘might’ is the natural way of the world and, in the case of this war, Russia is no more morally at fault than any other country wishing to protect its borders from the aggressive aggrandizement of a potential enemy like NATO. The war, in other words, is an entirely reasonable response by Russia to threats it rightly or wrongly feels to its own security. This argument, of course, falls down on the reality that Ukraine was not a member of NATO when Russia invaded in February 2022. Had it been so, this current ugliness would have been avoided.

Readers will know that I am at heart an anti-interventionist, a realist in respect of how international relations does and should work. My first ever piece of published work in 1994 was an analysis of the benefits or otherwise of intervention in Bosnia and I was a determined opponent of the two disastrous ‘Blair’s and Brown’s’ wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. While I wish the ‘realist’ argument in this case were as simple as Mearsheimer attests, the truth of historic aggrandizement of the kind we are seeing in Ukraine (think Soviet invasions across wartime and post-war Europe) is that evil does tend to follow the physical act of invasion. I have enough friends across the countries of eastern Europe who tell me of the horrors of Soviet repression not to see this. For this reason, the argument that the consequence of appeasing Russia would be to allow evil to triumph does have historic precedent, certainly in the context of Russian (and Soviet) behaviour in the past. Just think of Korea. Had the world appeased Kim Il Sung in 1950 the whole of the Korean peninsula might also have ended up the benighted repressive backwater that North Korea is today. If a free and democratic Ukraine (with all its problems) is allowed to be swallowed by a gangster state like Russia, it won’t just be Ukraine that will suddenly become less free, but the rest of us.

Because of this I agree with the sentiment expressed in the statement.

The statement can be found in yesterday’s edition of the Ukrainian Pravda, and is copied here:

The new year 2025 brings many uncertainties yet much hope to Ukraine and Europe as we try to find a straightforward solution to a complex problem: how to end the big war. As Ukrainian public figures and intellectuals, we address the world leaders and the international community in order to share our perspectives on the forthcoming challenges and expectations.

Above all, we would like to emphasize that acquiring additional territories is not Russia’s primary objective in this war. It already has vast undeveloped territories, and when it seizes a new land, this land is systematically neglected. Similarly, the objective is not merely to bring Ukraine back under its control. This is only one of the intermediate goals. Russia’s ultimate aim is to break the current world order.

It seeks to regain its status of a superpower that acts arbitrarily and, by the right of the stronger, attacks neighbors, interferes in the affairs of other countries, commits terrorist acts, supports authoritarian regimes and illegally armed groups around the world.

None of this is an isolated incident, a whim of Putin, or a temporary "deviation from normalcy." It is a part of a strategic design. This is why, three years ago, Putin issued an ultimatum to the United States and its allies in Europe, demanding a return to the 1997 disposition.

Ukraine, by reason of its history and geography, has become the next target on the way to realization of these revanchist intentions.

For Ukraine itself, this war is existential: it is a war for survival of the Ukrainian nation, society, and state. Ukrainian democratic and Russian authoritarian-imperial political visions are essentially mutually exclusive. That means that any ‘freezing’ of the conflict at this or that demarcation line will not lead either to a relief of tensions or to the establishment of sustainable peace.

For Russia, such a freeze would primarily signal the weakness of the West and encourage further aggression and wars that spill the blood of Europeans and Americans. Sustainable peace will come only when, under the combined pressure of Ukraine and its allies, Russia faces a systemic crisis and the defeat of Putin’s regime. As proven by history, tyrannies are fragile.

This war is not confined to Ukraine, nor can the ‘Ukrainian question’ be solved exclusively within the framework of Russian-Ukrainian relations. If the world leaders demand concessions of the territories and sovereignty from Ukraine without providing any effective security guarantees, they will essentially bring about Ukraine’s defeat, which will signal to China and other revisionists that they can seize what they want.

North Korean troops will appear in different hot spots. Piracy, blocking of trade routes, attacks on information systems and global communications will sabotage global trade.

Longstanding efforts to limit the spread of nuclear weapons will be reduced to naught. Russian media influence, cyberattacks, covert operations, and election interference in democratic countries will undermine the world order. And the possible fall of Ukraine would create a large wave of refugees and open the way for Putin to advance farther westward.

On the other hand, an effective end of Russian aggression against Ukraine could be a solution to many problems of the democratic world. Russia’s defeat in its war of aggression against Ukraine would reestablish the order based on rules and interdependence of responsible players. The security of global trade, global nuclear energy, and food security will be strengthened. Terrorist regimes and organizations around the world will lose Russian support and weaken.

Today, Ukraine is buying time for the democratic world to unite and strengthen. But this time is not limitless. The forces defending peace, freedom, and human dignity must go on the offensive. Ukraine and the entire democratic world can only win together or give in and lose together. The illusion of peace at the cost of shame has repeatedly brought on a new war.

The strength of a democracy is the ability to learn from past mistakes. Ukraine, too, has fought—and continues to fight—its way to democracy through trial and error. It is paying an exorbitant price along the way. Each and every one of us has relatives and friends that lost property, their health, or even their lives.

But we understand that the price of war will be even higher if our allies are seduced by the illusion of stopping the war without addressing its causes. And this is not only for Ukraine, but for the entire world. That is why we urge our partners to look for a way not to appease the aggressor, but to win together.

Evil cannot be appeased. It must be defeated and punished for the sake of a secure future of Ukraine, Europe, and the entire world.

January 5, 2025

Signatories.

Alim Aliev, deputy director general of the Ukrainian institute, founder of the "Crimean Fig" cultural project
Kostyantyn Batozskyy, political analyst
Yaryna Boychuk, CEO, UCU Business School
Mykhailo Gonchar, President of the CGS Strategy XXI, Chief Editor of the Black Sea Security Journal
Hanna Hopko, Network "ANTS", member of the Parliament of Ukraine and chairwoman of the Foreign Affairs committee (2014-2019)
Volodymyr Horbach, Executive Director of Institute for Northern Eurasia Transformation
Yaroslav Hrytsak, professor, Ukrainian Catholic University
Ihor Koliushko, Centre for Policy and Legal Reform, Head of the Board, former member of the Parliament of Ukraine
Serhii Koshman, civil society activist
Oleksii Kovzhun, media analyst and political consultant
Nataliia Kryvda, PhD, professor of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Head of Ukrainian Cultural Foundation
Oleksandr Novikov, Head of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (2020-2024), preacher of the integrity and human-centred management system OKR
Olesia Ostrovska-Liuta, Director, "Mystetskyi Arsenal" National Art and Culture Museum Complex
Bohdan Pankevych, co-founder, member of the Board of the Ukrainian Galician party
Oleksiy Panych, Professor of Philosophy, Ukrainian Evangelical Theological Seminary
Valerii Pekar, adjunct professor of Kyiv-Mohyla and UCU Business schools, chairman of the board of Decolonization NGO
Roman Rak, Senior Resident Fellow at Frontier Institute, Editor-in-Chief of NZL Media (TUM)
Yaroslav Rushchyshyn, member of the Parliament of Ukraine
Olena Sotnyk, human rights lawyer and public figure, member of the Parliament of Ukraine (8th convocation)
Taras Stetskiv, politician and public figure, member of the Parliament of Ukraine (1st-4th and 6th convocations)
Oleksandr Sushko, Executive Director, International Renaissance Foundation
Victoria Voytsitska, member of the Parliament of Ukraine (8th convocation), ranking member of the Energy Committee, Advocacy Director of ICUV
Mykola Vyhovskyy, civil activist
Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, member of the Parliament of Ukraine, Head of the Committee on Freedom of Speech
Olga Aivazovska, Chairperson, Civil Network OPORA
Andrii Dligach, Dr. Econ., founder, Advanter Group, Kyiv Foresight Foundation
Orest Drul, editor
Dr. Oksana Gudzovata, professor of UCU Business School
Yevhen Hlibovytsky, general director, Frontier Institute
Valeriia Kozlova, associate professor, UCU Business School
Myroslav Marynovych, former prisoner of conscience (1977-1987)
Oleksandra Matviichuk, human rights lawyer, head of the Center for Civil Liberties
Sofiya Opatska, Founding Dean, Business School of the Ukrainian Catholic University
Svyatoslav Pavlyuk, Executive Director, Association Energy Efficient Cities of Ukraine
Roman Romanov, Human Rights and Justice Program Director, International Renaissance Foundation
Vitalii Rudenky, Research and Analytical Director, Transformation Communication Activity
Igor Semyvolos, Executive Director of Association of Middle East Studies
Andriy Zagorodnyuk, Chairman, Centre for Defence Strategies
Dmytro Zolotukhin, deputy minister of information policy of Ukraine (2017-2019), founder of the NGO "Institute for postinformation society"
Oleksandr Yabchanka, officer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, medical doctor, lecturer of Ukrainian Catholic University

Yuri Andrukhovych, writer
Viktoriia Antonenko, CEO of the NGO ArcUA, Executive Editor of Arc.UA
Roman Bezsmertny, politician, diplomat, Ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary
Martina Boguslavets, Head of Anti-corruption center MEZHA
Serhii Bolhov, Head of U8 Ukrainian Analytical Center NGO
Hanna Bondarenko, Head of Ukrainian Volunteer Service, Member of the Youth Affairs Council under the President of Ukraine
Kateryna Botanova, cultural researcher, curator, head of analytics at the Frontier Institute (Ukraine)
Yehor Brailian, Candidate of historical sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of International Relations and Strategic Studies, Kyiv Aviation Institute, analyst, Detector Media
Stepan Burban (Palindrom), artist, musician
Yevhen Bystrytsky, Dr., Leading Researcher of Institute of Philosophy, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Sofia Cheliak, program director of Lviv International BookForum, journalist, translator, PEN Ukraine member
Yehor Cherniev, Member of the Parliament of Ukraine, Head of the Ukrainian delegation to the NATO PA
Dr. Roman Chmelyk, director, Lviv Historical Museum
Refat Chubarov, Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People
Oleksandr Chudnovets, Chairman of the council of the public organization Kyiv Military Historical Society
Orysia Demska, professor, National Academy of the SSU
Larysa Denysenko, Human Right Attorney, Writer
Taras Dobko, Rector, Ukrainian Catholic University
Petro Dolhanov, historian, Associate Professor of the Department of Teaching Methods, Rivne Regional Institute for Postgraduate Pedagogical Education
Oleg Dubish, Chairman of the Council of the Polish-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and the Board of the Polish-Ukrainian Partnership Fund
Vladimir Dubrovskiy, Senior Economist at CASE Ukraine
Dmytro Durnyev, journalist
Oleksandra Dvoretska, human rights defender, founder Crimean Human Rights Centre Deistviye (Action)
Uliana Dzhurlaik, Architect, civil activist, co-founder "Save Kvity Ukrainy"
Sergiy Filimonov, Gonor movement founder, commander of Da Vinci Wolves battalion, captain of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Leonid Finberg, Director of the Judaica Center, National university Kyiv-Mohyla Academy
Oksana Forostyna, Opinion Editor, Ukraina Moderna
Alyona Franchuk, Deputy Head of the Regional Development Center in Lviv of the Ukrainian Leadership Academy
Vladyslav Greziev, founder, Lobby X recruiting platform, NGO Zminotvortsi
Iurii Gudymenko, war veteran, statesman and civil rights activist

Myroslav Hai, chairman of the charity foundation Myr & Ko, officer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Serhii Haidaichuk, president of CEO Club Ukraine
Olena Halushka, co-founder, International Center for Ukrainian Victory
Oleksiy Haran, Professor, National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy
Ulana Holovatch, Associate Professor, Ukrainian Catholic University
Yurij Holovatch, professor, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Olena Honcharuk, culture manager, creative director of the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Centre – Ukrainian film archive
Bohdan Hud, professor, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, visiting professor, University of Warsaw
Serhii Husak, second lieutenant of The National Guard of Ukraine, otolaryngologist, musician (Nitso Potvorno)
Said Ismahilov, junior lieutenant of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, ex-Mufti of the Muslims of Ukraine
Daria Kaleniuk, Anti-Corruption Action Centre
Zoya Kazanzhy, journalist, writer
Vakhtang Kebuladze, philosopher, writer, translator
Roman Kechur, Head of the Department of Psychology and Psychotherapy of the Ukrainian Catholic University
Svitlana Khyliuk, Director of Law School, Ukrainian Catholic University
Andrii Klymenko, Crimean expert and journalist, Editor-in-chief of the BlackSeaNews, Head of the Monitoring Group of the Black Sea Institute of Strategic Studies
Natalia Klymovska, Vice Rector for Development and Communications, Ukrainian Catholic University
Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, Member of the Parliament, Chair of the Committee on Ukraine’s Integration into the EU
Mykola Kniazhytskyi, Member of the Parliament of Ukraine
Olena Kondratiuk, Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine
George (Iurii) Kovalenko, rector, Open Orthodox University of Saint Sophia the Wisdom, archpriest, Orthodox Church of Ukraine
Roman Kravets, journalist
Mykhailo Krikunov, Ph.D., Dean, Kyiv Business School
Lt. Colonel Bohdan "Tavr" Krotevych, Chief of Staff of the 12th Special Forces Brigade Azov of the National Guard of Ukraine
Viktor Kruglov, member of board of the Ukrainian association of publishers and booksellers, CEO of Ranok Publishing house
Kyrylo Kryvolap, managing partner, Civitta Ukraine; director, Center for economic recovery
Volodymyr Kurennoy, member of the Parliament of Ukraine (5th, 7th, 8th convocations)
Ulyana Kyrchiv, historian
Serhiy Kvit, president of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy
Kostiantyn Kvurt, Head of the Board, NGO "Internews Ukraine"
Bogdan Logvynenko, founder of Ukraїner
Danylo Lubkivsky, Director of the Kyiv Security Forum, Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine (2014)
Oleksandr Lysenko, professor, Institute of History of Ukraine of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU)
Taras Lyuty, professor, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy
Ksenia Maryniak, C. Tran., CIUS Editor
Juliy Morozov, co-founder of NGO "Union of Responsible citizens" and Military and civilians recovery space HART
Sevgil Musaieva, Chief Editor of Ukrainska Pravda (Ukrainian Truth)
Oleksii Mushak, member of the Parliament of Ukraine (2014-2019), economic adviser to the Prime Minister (2019-2020)
Nataliya Mykolska, Executive Director Diia.City United (tech business association), non-executive member of the Board "Ukrhydroenergo", visionary, expert on strategic transformation and globalization, Trade Representative of Ukraine – Deputy Minister of Economy (2015-2019)
Lyana Mytsko, cultural manager, head of Lviv Municipal Art Center
Max Nefyodov, co-founder of Technology of Progress NGO
Volodymyr Ogrysko, Minister of foreign affairs of Ukraine (2007-2009), CEO, Centre for Russian Studies
Volodymyr Omelyan, mayor of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Minister of Infrastructure (2016-2019), politician
Oksana Ovsiiuk, Editor-in-chief of the academic website "Ukraina Moderna"
Tetiana Pechonchyk, head of the Human Rights Center ZMINA
Inna Pidluska, Deputy Executive Director, International Renaissance Foundation
Viktoriya Podgorna, Member of the Parliament of Ukraine, Deputy of head committee on Digital Transformation
Taras Prokopyshyn, Co-Founder and CEO, The Ukrainians Media
Oleksandr Pronkevich, Head of the Department of Philology of the Ukrainian Catholic University
Vadym Prystaiko, diplomat, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (2019-2020), Vice-Prime Minister, Ambassador to the UK, Canada, Head of Mission to NATO
Serhiy Prytula, Founder of Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation
Victoria Ptashnyk, member of the Parliament of Ukraine (8th convocation), deputy of Kyiv City Council
Oleh Romanchuk, Director of the Institute of mental health of the Ukrainian Catholic University
Oleksii Riabchyn, Deputy Minister for Energy and Environmental Protection of Ukraine 2019-20, Member of Parliament of Ukraine (2014-19)
Olexander Samarskiy, Retired Ambassador, Centre for Russian Studies
Mariana Savka, writer, editor-in-chief of the Old Lion Publishing House
Mykhailo Savva, head of the public organization "Expert Group "Sova", Doctor of Political Sciences
Olexander Scherba, author, diplomat
Akhtem Seitablaiev, film director
Konstantin Sigov, Director of European Humanities research Center, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy
Yevhen Sinkevych, professor, University of Czerkasy
Olga Shapoval, Executive Director Kharkiv IT Cluster, Program Lead Charity Foundation IT4Life
Yuri Shapoval, Professor, Doctor of historical sciences, Head of the Center for Historical Political Studies, Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Roman Sheremeta, Professor of Economics at Case Western Reserve University, Founding Rector of American University Kyiv
Dmytro Sherengovsky, Vice-Rector for Outreach, Ukrainian Catholic University
Iryna Shukhtuieva, public activist, curator of art projects
Grygorii Shverk, Member of the Parliament of Ukraine (8th convocation)
Ostap Slyvynsky, Associate Professor, Ukrainian Catholic University, Vice President of PEN Ukraine
Oleksandr Solontay, Head of NGO Agency for Recovery and Development
Serhiy Sternenko, volunteer, civil activist
Yevhen Stepanenko, war veteran, writer, author of the book "Abc of war"
Roman Sulzhyk, ex-JP Morgan, ex-Deutsche Bank executive
Ulana Suprun, MD, a/ Minister of Health of Ukraine (2016-2019), Editor-in-Chief of The Black Sea Whale
Tetiana Sylina, Editor of the international department, Mirror Weekly (ZN.UA)
Katya Taylor, curator, founder of NGO Port of Culture
Olena Tregub, Executive Director NGO "Independent Anti-Corruption Commission (NAKO)"
Dr. Bohdan Ustymenko, Director, National Security Institute
Yan Valietov, writer
Valeriy Veremchuk, co-founder of NGO "People’s Self-Defence Lviv", member of Lviv city council
Viktor Vovk, Club of Rome associate member, member of the Parliament of Ukraine and deputy chairman of the Foreign Affairs committee (2014-2019), PACE and PA OSCE member (2015-2019)
Taras Voznyak, general director of Lviv National Art Gallery
Yehor Vradii, Deputy Director of Museum "Jewish Memory and Holocaust in Ukraine"
Hlib Vyshlinsky, Executive Director, Centre for Economic Strategy
Oleh Yaskiv, combat officer, professor in physics, cinema critic, art manager and lecturer at Ukrainian Catholic University
Andrii Yermolenko, artist, designer, laureate of the Shevchenko Prize 2024, military serviceman
Volodymyr Zabolotovskyy, director, charitable foundation HELP HEROES OF UKRAINE
Agiya Zagrebelska, policy director, Economic Security Council of Ukraine
Oleksandr Zaitsev, Professor, Ukrainian Catholic University
Yevgeniy Zakharov, human rights defender, director of the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group
Rev. Andriy Zelinskyy, SJ, military chaplain, writer, co-founder of the Ukrainian Leadership Academy
Mykhailo Zhernakov, Doctor of Law, Executive director of DEJURE Foundation
Josef Zissels, Association of Jewish Organizations and Communities of Ukraine, First of December Initiative Group