After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, on the United States, President George W. Bush framed the event as an “attack on the heart and soul of the civilized world.” He launched a global war on terror. A broad coalition of nations fought alongside the United States extending far beyond NATO. Yet with the Russian invasion of Ukraine and systematized terror and war crimes, many have reacted with apathy or indifference, claiming that it is “not our problem” or “too risky” to help Ukraine.

The tide is turning to broad bipartisan support of Ukraine among American voters. A March 2025 Gallup poll found that a plurality of Americans (46%) believe the US is not doing enough to help Ukraine, up 16% since December and the highest since the poll began. According to a YouGov poll, Americans overwhelmingly understand by a ratio of more than ten to one (61%-6%) that Russia, not Ukraine, started the war. 81% of respondents to a Quinnipiac poll said Putin should not be trusted, including 73 percent of Republicans and 93 percent of Democrats.

Mr. Trump promised that he would end the war within 24 hours, before even taking office. Months later, friends and family of our local Ukrainian community have continued to be killed and wounded. Russia has increased drone strikes by 50% since Mr. Trump’s inauguration.

Before his election, Mr. Trump and his proxies promised that any refusal of Moscow to seek peace would result in increased US military support to Ukraine. His envoy General Keith Kellogg stated in June 2024: “you tell Putin, 'He's got to come to the table and if you don't come to the table, then we'll give Ukrainians everything they need to kill you in the field.’"

Yet despite escalating Russian attacks and the assessment of US intelligence agencies that Russia has no interest in peace, there has been no new US assistance to Ukraine. Instead, the US has stopped combatting Russian disinformation and cybercrime, disbanded the task force targeting Russian oligarchs. The US has stopped humanitarian aid to Ukraine, suspended humanitarian parole of Ukrainian refugees, and defunded efforts to track and recover kidnapped Ukrainian children.

Russia, not Ukraine, is the obstacle to peace. Mr. Trump’s numerous unilateral concessions to Putin with nothing in return have taken cards away from Ukraine and given them to Russia. Ukraine has made numerous concessions whereas Russia has offered none. Mr. Trump and Secretary Rubio have declared that they are ready to walk away from efforts to stop the war despite having applied no new pressure to Russia and having offered no new assistance to Ukraine. After previously telling European allies to shoulder the burden of Ukraine’s Defense, the Pentagon is now reportedly pressuring European nations to end military aid to Ukraine.

Mr. Trump’s demand for hundreds of billions worth of Ukraine’s mineral resources with public threats while offering no security guarantees, no new military aid, and nothing of substance in return have been widely described as extortion and will not bring peace.

Any just and enduring peace must be founded upon truth. We are concerned by the US Administration’s refusal to acknowledge basic facts. The US Administration’s misleading attacks and abusive language against Ukraine and its president contrasts with effuse praise of Vladimir Putin and weasel language applied to Russian atrocities without the slightest condemnation. Mr. Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff has amplified Russian lies despite the ready availability of verifiable contrary information.

Since Mr. Trump’s inauguration, the US has consistently sided with Russia in the United Nations to oppose resolutions stating facts about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Ukraine’s rights under international law. The US administration has repeatedly dignified Russian demands with no factual or legal basis, while opposing Ukraine’s basic rights under international law.

Secretary Hegseth has refused to acknowledge that Russia started the full-scale war, claiming that “it’s a very complicated situation.” The moral issues are clear but are obfuscated by self-interested parties. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was never about NATO expansion, protecting Russian speakers, historical unity, or other false pretexts. It is an imperialistic war of aggression intent on enslaving the Ukrainian people and erasing their identity, culture, and freedom.

The past refusal of administration officials to meet with Ukrainian leaders, refusal to visit Ukraine to understand the situation firsthand, and exclusion of Ukraine from negotiations with Russia demonstrate that these factual misunderstandings do not arise from any lack of availability of reliable information, but from callous indifference or animus.

JD Vance stated before Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 that “I really don’t care what happens to Ukraine one way or the other.” Missouri Senator Josh Hawley has stated that he categorically opposes US aid to Ukraine. These are preconceived ideological positions unreceptive to facts and evidence. This is problematic for individuals in positions of power with the United States’ historic role as the guardian of liberty and arsenal of democracy.

Heritage Institute fellow and Trump advisor James Carafano has tried to redefine the word appeasement and dismissed the need for security guarantees to deter Russia. Carafano stated that Trump is “seen as breaking all eggs but he’s making an omelette.” His words echo New York Times reporter and Stalin apologist Walter Duranty. Duranty denigrated truth-tellers and covered up the genocide of millions of Ukrainians in the 1932-33 Holodonor famine, stating: “you can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs.” When the “eggs” being broken are innocent lives, international law, and human rights, we are deeply concerned about what kind of “omelette” Mr. Trump is making.

Entrepreneur Richard Branson noted that of all of the US administration’s policies, its policy on Ukraine “should worry the world the most.” The Independent (UK) wrote that “Mr Trump has adopted Russia’s terms as his own in every aspect of his so-called peace process.” The US has attempted to bully Ukraine into capitulation while providing no security guarantees or new assistance to strengthen it in negotiations. US “diplomacy” has consisted of serial ultimatums for Ukraine to accept Russian demands with no real listening or engagement regarding Ukrainian needs and concerns.

Veteran diplomat Daniel Fried observed that the administration’s approach of “flowers to Russia, pressure on Ukraine” does not bring peace or make the world more secure, but only recreates the conditions that led to Russia’s 2022 full scale invasion. Ukrainian MP Oleksandr Merezhko observed: “All the sticks are for Ukraine, and carrots only exclusively for Putin.” Security expert Aaron Gasch Burnett stated: “The Russians get everything they want…the U.S. is essentially trying to negotiate Ukraine's surrender, and the U.S. is surrendering its own international leadership by doing it.” Tom Nichols observed in The Atlantic that the US proposal “is not a framework for peace, but a rich and bloody reward to Moscow for three years of aggression and war crimes...Trump is not a fair broker: He is acting as a de facto Russian ally and making demands as Moscow’s proxy.”

The conservative-leaning Telegraph (UK) acknowledged that Mr. Trump seems blind to the need to apply pressure to Russia and that he is not stopping the war, but prolonging it. Con Coughlin noted that Mr. Trump’s plan “may be many things, but it most certainly is not a peace plan. It is a blueprint for more war. Surrender, capitulation, betrayal, appeasement, abandonment.”  Such an approach cannot lead to a just and lasting peace. It only makes the United States complicit in Russia’s crimes and the oppression of the Ukrainian people.

We call for an urgent and principled approach to ending Russia’s war against Ukraine based on true facts, human rights, democracy, freedom, human dignity, and international law. We call for assistance from democratic nations and for the aggressor to be held accountable. Those who do not respect these principles are not peacemakers and have no constructive role. They undermine not only Ukraine’s freedom and sovereignty, but American values and security. Principled leadership is needed to bring peace.

Our organization is nonpartisan. Our affiliates span the political spectrum. We are united by belief in American values, including support for democracy, human rights, freedom of conscience, and civil and individual liberties. We have shared concerns about prior administrations’ policies toward Ukraine without regard to political affiliation.