Olena Tregub
Secretary General of NAKO – the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission at Transparency International
Tufts University – The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy Organization for Nonviolent Movements
Kyiv, Kyiv City, Ukraine
Jan 23, 2026
Listening to Western leaders at the Ukrainian Breakfast in Davos left a very bitter aftertaste. You can feel the fear of the US administration in the room, and the fact that almost no one dares to say openly what is obvious: Trump is putting pressure on Ukraine, not on Russia. There were only a few veiled remarks from Sikorski – and almost nothing from anyone else.
Instead, we hear things like the Belgian Prime Minister saying: “Europe is not at war with Russia, therefore we did not confiscate Russian assets.” Or Sikorski claiming that “Europe does not buy Russian energy,” which is simply not true. Then comes the self-congratulation about sanctions, about sanctioning the shadow tanker fleet, while in reality they add a few ships to each new package instead of adopting the radical and long-known solutions that would actually change the situation.
A special moment was the speech of a “special envoy” who said he came only because a friend invited him and he couldn’t refuse. That he and Kushner are like two volunteers, working for free to end the war in Ukraine. That everything is going great, the result is coming soon, and Putin will agree to everything any moment now.
The only voices of reality came from Ukrainian soldiers. One of them said that Europe should not be surprised when the war comes to its own territory, and that Ukraine is currently holding back over a million Russian troops on Europe’s borders. In other words, Ukraine is already de facto the defensive shield of the European Union. Yet on stage, European leaders still spoke about Ukraine as something external: unclear timelines, unclear criteria, fears that Ukraine’s accession could “destabilize” the EU.
It feels like people whose house is already being approached by a maniac have locked themselves inside, while Ukraine is outside, fighting and defending their home. But for them, Ukraine is only a sacred sacrifice: something to praise for courage, for surviving winter without heating, for endurance under terror – but not something they are ready to fully let into their warm and comfortable house.
Their house is too safe, too warm, too comfortable. And somewhere out there, “two savages” – Ukrainians and Russians – are fighting, and maybe it will somehow pass, maybe it will not reach them, maybe the maniac is not really coming for their house after all.
In the end, everyone praised themselves. Everyone talked about how much they support Ukraine. One congressman even said he prays every night. And only one question remains: if the support is so extraordinary, why has Ukraine not yet won?
The honest conclusion came from Niall Ferguson: Putin does not care about speeches in Davos. Ukraine needs weapons.
Comment from :
Great summary Olena Tregub and so heartbreaking with powerlessness of the European leaders and their talks, not even bold anymore. Are we ending up as a union of cowards hiding behind fake declarions of solving the war with arguments of words only? And still kind, warning, even submissive narrative? I am so ashamed of this lack of courage and boldness in the European political space… my concern is that it is all about business and money… why to risk a wide-scale conflict that will affect our economies, comfortable life and the challenges of the North… it is indeed at the expense of millions of Ukrainians shielding our borders… what will we all Europeans do if they stop doing it? #SlavaUkraini🇺🇦
We are looking at a destabilized political order, where United States is no longer a beacon of democracy, but a tool in hands of a powerhungry, greedy, petty man, who is flushing 80 years of painstaking diplomatic construct down the toilet to feed his insatiable ego. Putin knows how to feed that ego, that is why there is no resolution on Ukraine, no unity with NATO, and no stability of the current world order. Putin will continue to play him like a puppet, and Europe will be inching towards a precipice (just ask Finland), until they shake empty hopes that United States will do anything significant to help Ukraine to end the senseless war and stand up to Russia, United, themselves.
Michael Werbowski
So if the war is coming to Europe, then why aren’t countries like Poland going to war to defend Ukraine against the aggressor? Sikorski’s battle cries about defending Ukraine amount to empty rhetoric and hot air…
Guido B.
Michael Werbowski : the Russian war is already in Europe, and has been so for a long time: espionage of military sites, meddling in election campaigns, spreading of false information, hacking computer systems, acts of sabotage, mapping of communications cables on the seabed and causing damage to them, murdering opposition members within EU countries, …. It remains a mystery why European politicians are incapable of recognising this reality!
Garry Honey
Olena Tregub : Trump could force Putin to the table but he won’t. He takes Putin’s word that Ukraine should accept peace on his terms, regardless of the fact that this rewards larceny. Trump is of course happy to steal land himself so as far as he is concerned, if you can then you do.
It’s a disaster akin to the Western Betrayal of Central/Easter Europe and the Baltics after WW2, once again to the Russian bullies. This time the brave soldiers and citizens of Ukraine are being sacrificed for Putin’s latest military adventures. The world is failing Ukraine. The fall out when this all ends will affect all of us.
it is a disgrace and the real Savages are USA and Russia! Trump supporting Russia and putting Pressure on UKRAINE is just plain idiotic and Belgium, Hungary with their support to Russia – all non supporting countries: Suspend from EU!!!and let the rest of us get going to help Ukraine
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Europe will not act decisively until russian aggression hits it directly.
And even then, I have my doubts.
For now, it chooses to watch Ukraine fight from a safe distance, tossing a thing or two from the balcony so it keeps wearing russia down.
Drive Russia out of Ukraine and force a Russian surrender. This could’ve been achieved immediately after the start of the war had the US and Europe immediately fulfilled obligations by fully supporting Ukraine with weapons, intelligence, equipment and boots on the ground. It’s even now possible. Russia would have zero ability to stand up against joint European forces operating under Ukrainian leadership. The West has done nothing but tie Ukraine’s hands and give them just barely enough to survive, that’s it. They should have used frozen Russian assets and they should have implemented full sanctions on Russia, including an immediate ban on all fuel/energy from Russia. It’s embarrassing and could easily have all been avoided back in 2014. That’s what “win” should and could look like.
Tragic and frustrating- your analysis resonates with truth.