Translated material
Why is a ceasefire necessary?
Grigory Yavlinsky: “Now the highest justice is to stop taking the lives of innocent people. Everything else comes later."
What's happening?
The Russian army is advancing in Donbass. The Ukrainian Armed Forces continue their operation in the Kursk region. Russia launches missile attacks on Kharkov, Poltava and Lvov... Ukraine shells Donetsk and Belgorod... Russian missiles destroy energy infrastructure on Ukrainian territory. Ukrainian drones attack Russian oil refineries. People die every day - military and civilians, men and women, old people and children.
The deadlock in resolving the conflict by military means is already obvious to almost everyone, including the participants in the conflict themselves at all levels. Moreover, the ongoing escalation threatens to increase the scale of the conflict and involve new parties - up to a nuclear conflict, which, without a doubt, will result in an irreparable disaster for everyone.
What are they saying?
In Moscow they say that there is no one to talk to. In Kyiv they say that there is nothing to talk about. In Washington they say it is too early to talk. In Brussels they say that it is too late to talk.
The media vied with each other to publish analyzes and analyzes of the military’s actions, quote experts, make forecasts - who will capture more populated areas, how many soldiers will be needed to hold the defense or carry out an attack, how many square kilometers and who will be able to occupy before winter, how much until spring and what the balance of forces will be by summer 2025.
Numerous bloggers are engaged in the same empty chatter on social networks, posing as political scientists, virologists, or military experts. About the same thing, but in a different form and with a very serious face, can be heard from many high-ranking officials of various calibers - ministers, heads of government and presidents.
Politicians, political scientists, experts in different countries are constantly discussing how much more money needs to be allocated for military operations, where to get it, why they are not giving what was promised and even what has already been allocated, how many additional missiles and shells to supply, which targets are worth hitting and which ones are not yet.
Against this background, it is difficult to hear the voices of those who demand to stop the bloodshed. Nevertheless, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Serbia are in favor of an immediate ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, and Brazil, India, China, Turkey and a number of other countries are also ready to facilitate this in one way or another. In addition, the results of recent opinion polls in both Russia and Ukraine show that more citizens are in favor of ending hostilities than in favor of their continuation.
What is a ceasefire agreement?
It is important to understand that the ceasefire agreement
DOES NOT confirm the ownership of territories;
DOES NOT establish interstate boundaries or demarcation lines;
DOES NOT address issues of accession or non-entry into NATO;
DOES NOT require the cessation of military cooperation with third countries;
DOES NOT consolidate neutrality and does not turn anyone into a satellite state;
DOES NOT remove sanctions from anyone;
DOES NOT interfere with war crimes investigations.
The main thing that the ceasefire agreement contains is a real stop to the death and maiming of people, the parties’ renunciation of the use of lethal violence and the continuation of military operations.
All other issues can be discussed and resolved later through negotiations - through direct contacts, through intermediaries. The negotiators will meet dozens of times, they will put forward demands, they will set conditions, they will negotiate, agreements will be broken and violated, then they will discuss again and try to come to an agreement... This work will continue for months, and possibly years. Issues such as the creation of demilitarized zones, the withdrawal of troops, guarantees, monitoring of third parties will, in one way or another, be components of the agreement, but not preconditions.
But the most significant thing in this situation is that people will stop dying. Therefore, a ceasefire agreement will save many thousands, and possibly tens of thousands of human lives.
There are plenty of examples in world history. The ceasefire agreement between South and North Korea was discussed at 159 meetings over two years. This agreement has been in effect for more than 70 years.
All talk about the need for the parties to take more advantageous territorial positions before the start of ceasefire negotiations, in the context of this conflict and taking into account the scale of the opponents’ territories, is meaningless, and if we talk about the continuation of mass deaths, then such talk is generally cynical and immoral its essence.
Negotiations on long-term peace, of course, will also begin someday (if it doesn’t come to a nuclear apocalypse). However, in order to ultimately obtain workable agreements, negotiations must be conducted not just between Moscow and Kiev, but with the indispensable participation of the United States, the EU and Great Britain, and possibly with the involvement of China, and on the basis of much more significant factors than territorial issues.
The situation is such that every month of continued fighting for the sake of irresponsible fantasies and illusory goals takes new human lives and destroys the chances for a normal future.
This is why an immediate ceasefire agreement is needed. For the sake of lives. For the sake of the future.
To whom is the call for a ceasefire addressed?
Of course, all parties involved in the conflict need to call for a ceasefire. This includes Moscow, Kyiv, Washington, and Brussels. Pointing a finger and shouting that the one who started it first should stop is either infantilism or idiocy. Both sides must cease fire simultaneously and without any preconditions. The greatest justice now is to stop taking the lives of innocent people. Everything else comes later.
Of course, government leaders who make key decisions need to call for a ceasefire. And we must understand that personifying responsibility for everything that happens is important, but this will need to be dealt with later. And now, when people are dying en masse, it is much more important to create a general atmosphere of rejection of the continuation of hostilities. The citizens themselves must demand a ceasefire - through voting for anti-war candidates, through the media, through petitions, through public opinion leaders, through opinion polls indicating the mood in society. And even conversations in the kitchen are also a significant drop in the bucket. This applies to Russia, Ukraine, the USA, and Europe.
Of course, a Russian politician must first address his citizens. This is what the Yabloko party is doing. Since the summer of 2021, we have been waging an anti-war campaign - since Putin published the article “On the historical unity of Russians and Ukrainians,” which formulated a clear warning about the impending war. Unfortunately, our voices were not heard. In the elections to the State Duma in the fall of 2021, we were shouted down, on the one hand, by state propagandists, and on the other, by propagandists of “smart voting.” Only supporters of the war entered parliament, which was exactly what the Kremlin needed.
Since February 24, 2022, Yabloko has been waging a consistent campaign for a ceasefire in hostilities between Russia and Ukraine. We use all available platforms and formats to convey to people why this is important.
It is obvious that in conditions of total state propaganda, in an atmosphere of fear, it is extremely difficult to come up with an agenda that contradicts the official course of the authorities. And the authorities in the Kremlin are not yet going to lay down their arms, despite the fact that the flywheel of repression against dissidents continues to spin up.
Nevertheless, many people in Russia see and understand what is really happening, and are able to assess the threats that continued hostilities pose for their future, for the future of their children and grandchildren. And even opinion polls conducted in this oppressive atmosphere of propaganda and fear indicate that the majority of Russian citizens do not support the continuation of hostilities.
Our call for an immediate ceasefire agreement is based on professional assessments and analysis of experts in the field of military-political studies from around the world, as well as many years of experience in politics, which allows us to better understand the essence and features of what is happening, and correctly assess the future. Moreover, the correctness of our conclusions and corresponding proposals has been repeatedly confirmed by real events - both on the battlefield and in political trends. And today everything is also very clear to us: the situation is such that the continuation of the military confrontation will lead to the destruction of Ukraine. What will happen to Russia is a separate conversation. We need to stop right now. A ceasefire agreement is needed.
We appeal to politicians - Russian, Ukrainian, European, American - all those who are capable of making fateful decisions. Let us repeat, if a ceasefire agreement is not concluded as soon as possible, irreversible and possibly catastrophic events may occur that will erase the future for millions. This is exactly what happened just over 110 years ago on the eve of the First World War.
We appeal to the citizens of Russia: look around - a lot depends on your understanding of what is happening.
FROM THE EDITORIAL "NEW"
We believe it is important to publish this statement and this call. And return again to discussing the ceasefire problem with our readers.Therefore, we put the question before you to vote.
What is your position:
I support an immediate ceasefire without preconditions
I do not support a ceasefire. Everything will be decided on the battlefield