Aug 31, 2025

In a recent interview, JD Vance claimed that russia has shown “flexibility” in peace talks and has already made “major concessions.”

Flexibility? From a terrorist state that bombs Ukrainian cities daily, killing civilians and children? Cities are burning, lives are being destroyed, and he calls that “concessions.”

How could anyone vote for this level of moral bankruptcy?

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Two days ago, russians killed this girl.

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“The murder of Andriy Parubiy is yet another reminder that even if, one day, the conditions for ending the russian-Ukrainian war arise, russia’s terrorist war against Ukraine will not cease for a single moment.

For russians, this is not a war for territory, nor even a war for borders. It is a war against Ukrainian identity itself, which stands in the way of their efforts to reestablish control over territories and frontiers.

That is why life in Ukraine was, is, and for many decades will remain the life of a fortress. And Andriy, by the way, was truly the commandant of that fortress.”

Author: Vitaly Portnikov, Ukrainian Journalist

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President Volodymyr Zelensky has outlined three key security guarantees for Ukraine:

1️⃣ Army – Adequate funding to maintain the current size of Ukraine’s armed forces, with guaranteed supply of weapons.

2️⃣ NATO-style support – Commitments from partner countries to step in if russia launches renewed aggression, in a format similar to Article 5 of NATO’s Charter.

3️⃣ Sanctions on russia – Continued pressure through sanctions, including the use of frozen russian assets to rebuild Ukraine.

Zelensky also addressed Politico’s report about a possible “buffer zone” as part of a peace deal. He dismissed it as unnecessary, pointing out that such a zone already exists.

Ukraine is not asking for concessions. It is asking for guarantees that ensure survival, freedom, and security in the face of continued russian aggression.

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Another typical night in Kyiv – people are sleeping in subway, hiding from russian missiles and drones.

Meanwhile, two weeks have already passed since Trump rolled out the red carpet in Alaska for a war criminal, Vladimir Putin.

After their meeting, Trump proudly announced that he had a “very good relationship” with the russian dictator, that an agreement was made to start a negotiation process, and that sanctions would no longer be in place.

Two weeks later – nothing has changed. Nothing.

If anything, the situation has only worsened. Russia has carried out some of the largest attacks on Ukraine since the invasion began. Just two days ago, Kyiv was brutally bombed. 24 civilians were killed, including four children.

And Trump? He does nothing. He looks the other way. That is the definition of complacency and moral bankruptcy.

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Peace talks, already more of a performance than a process, have once again hit a dead end. Europeans debate security guarantees they are unlikely to fulfill, while the U.S. waits for a Ukraine–russia summit that almost certainly will never happen.

So what can the U.S. and EU do now to truly help end the war — short of the unrealistic option of NATO troops in Ukraine?

1. Expand sanctions to Lukoil and Rosneft.

These two energy giants provide nearly half of russia’s crude exports. Targeting them would sharply reduce Kremlin revenues and, amid economic decline, make war financing far more difficult.

2. Strengthen enforcement of existing sanctions.

Technology exports must be monitored from the first buyer to the final recipient, similar to how CoCom operated during the Cold War. Today, russian drones still contain American, French, and German components. Exports to third countries suspected of sanctions evasion should be tightly restricted and capped.

3. Replace the ban on capital outflows with controlled access.

By forbidding capital to leave russia, funds remain trapped inside and are used to bankroll the war. A better approach would be to allow limited access abroad, but under a strict ban on repatriation.

4. Adopt Lindsey Graham’s bill.

Even without its proposed 500% tariffs on russian oil buyers, it contains key measures — most importantly, turning U.S. sanctions from temporary (renewed annually by the president) into permanent law. Permanent sanctions are extremely hard to repeal. The Jackson–Vanik amendment, for example, remained in force against russia until 2012.

5. Recognize Ukraine’s Armed Forces as the foundation of a European army.

The EU has no effective army. Events since 2022 exposed the hollowness of many national militaries — recall Spain’s inability to field a single working tank. Since polls show Europeans unwilling to fight even for their own countries, the strongest security guarantee would be to build a European army on the basis of Ukraine’s Armed Forces. Funding, training, and equipping the Ukrainian army as an EU force would bolster both Europe’s security and Ukraine’s resilience.

Beyond these five steps, technical measures must follow: dense mining of the front line, expansion of domestic weapons production, development of air defenses and cruise missiles. But the immediate priorities are clear:
• broader sanctions,
• permanent sanctions,
• stricter enforcement,
• smarter financial controls,
• and a European army anchored in Ukraine.

These steps — not symbolic talks — should form the foundation of future security guarantees.

Source: Translated and adopted from the text of a Ukrainian journalist, Mykola Kniazhytsky.

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Yesterday, russians killed 23 people, including 4 children, in Kyiv:

Anhelina, 2
Nadiia, her mother, 24
Maryna Hryshko, 17, student
Yana Shapoval, mother
Nazarii Koval, 14, schoolboy
Oksana Protsiuk – doctor of physical and rehabilitation medicine, neurologist
Olena Chala
Vira Tulupova – member of folk song and dance ensemble Hromytsia

Source: Euromaidan Press