“The betrayal of Ukraine would spell the death knell for the European project,” warns the text, published in Le Monde on December 26 and in Poland by Gazeta Wyborca. “Triumphant today, Putin would resume his wars of conquest against Ukraine, but also against Georgia, Moldova, or the Baltic states, in two, five, or seven years. The entire continent would slide toward the abyss. Our security, our freedoms, and our values are directly threatened. We must therefore act, and quickly.”

Around a hundred prominent figures from across Europe (political or military leaders, artists, academics, writers, etc.) have already signed it.

Among the first signatories: Daniel Cohn-Bendit, General Vincent Desportes, Michel Hazavanicius, Agnieszka Holland, Stephen Fry, Etienne Klein, Jonathan Littell, Denis MacShane, Adam Michnik, Ariane Mnouchkine, Rithy Panh, Karl Schlögel, Mario Stasi, Volker Schlöndorff, Olivier Weber.

The appeal is open for signatures from all citizens on the website of the association "For Ukraine, For their freedom and ours!"

Despite the heroic resistance of the Ukrainians, the Russian army is gaining ground, the signatories note, thanks in particular to "half-measures and delays in aid provided by their allies" which have allowed the Kremlin "to successively go through all the stages of military escalation, up to the arrival in recent days of 10,000 North Korean soldiers, culminating in the use of chemical weapons and a hypersonic ballistic missile."

In this context, with Donald Trump's arrival at the White House approaching and "if NATO does not take responsibility within the next two months to invite Ukraine to join the Atlantic Alliance," the text calls for "the prompt establishment of a coalition of willing European states—whether or not they are members of the EU" and believes that this coalition could very quickly agree on a set of measures:

1. Secure the financing of the necessary armaments, demanded by Kyiv, by confiscating and transferring to Ukraine the €210 billion of assets of the Central Bank of Russia currently blocked in Europe.

2. To militarily protect the skies and northern border of Ukraine.

3. Reject any peace agreement that does not take into account the human (and not just territorial) dimension of the Russian invasion and the security of Ukraine, which cannot be subjected to the status of a demilitarized or neutral state.

" None of these measures implies going to war with Russia. Their cost is limited. They are vital for a country that defends its freedom and protects ours ," the appeal concludes.

Find our appeal here:

www.pourlukraine.com

Triumphant today, Putin would resume his wars of conquest against Ukraine, but also Georgia, Moldova or the Baltic States.

Its publication in Le Monde, on December 26:

https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2024/12/26/la-trahison-de-l-ukraine-signerait-l-arret-de-mort-du-projet-europeen_6468555_3232.html

And in the Gazeta Wyborca:

https://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,31560559,apel-do-obywateli-europy-wybila-godzina-dla-europy-nie-zdradzmy.html