The Power Within: The Kyiv Independent’s first-ever magazine. Be among the first to get it.

pre-order now
Skip to content
Edit post

'End policy of appeasement' — European foreign affairs chairs rebuke Trump's Russia stance

by Kateryna Denisova April 25, 2025 4:20 PM 2 min read
U.S. President Donald Trump, during a campaign rally at Riverfront Sports, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, US on Oct. 9, 2024. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
This audio is created with AI assistance

Chairs of the foreign affairs committees of eight European parliaments on April 25 urged U.S. President Donald Trump to end "the policy of appeasement" towards Russia, and called for a "resolute stance" against Moscow, according to a document seen by the Kyiv Independent.

"We strongly warn against yielding to its blackmail and deception," the statement read.

The statement is signed by chairs of the foreign affairs committees of the U.K., France, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Ukraine.

U.S. President Donald Trump has adopted a more critical stance toward Ukraine than his predecessor, while courting Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Trump administration has temporarily paused military and intelligence support for Kyiv while taking no significant steps to pressure Russia into ending its war in Ukraine.

"We urge an end to the policy of appeasement and call instead for a united, resolute stance against Russia’s terrorist regime," the statement reads.

"Negotiating with the war criminal Putin is evidently futile; his main objective is to undermine and humiliate our ally, the United States. We call upon all states to ensure that Vladimir Putin and all those complicit in his crimes are brought to justice."

The officials also called upon the U.S. and other NATO members to admit Ukraine into NATO "without delay." as well as accelerate Ukraine's accession to the European Union.

"We must not repeat the mistakes of Munich in 1938," they said.

The chairs stressed that there can be "no compromise and no external pressure" on Ukraine regarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity, as U.S. is reportedly proposing its de jure recognition of Russian control over Crimea, which Russia has occupied since 2014, as part of a potential peace deal.

They also urged Europe to confiscate Russia’s frozen assets and redirect them to support Ukraine.

Elsewhere, a copy of the peace proposal given to the U.S. by Ukrainian and European officials earlier this week show the diverging viewpoints of the U.S. on one side, and Ukraine and its European allies on the other as they seek to end Russia's full-scale invasion.

Ukraine, Europe’s ceasefire proposal includes US security guarantees, no recognition of Crimea, Reuters reports
The document, reprinted in full by the news outlet, contains numerous points that show the diverging viewpoints of the U.S. on one side, and Ukraine and its European allies on the other as they seek to end Russia’s full-scale invasion.

News Feed

6:04 PM

Chornobyl isn’t safe anymore... again.

Chornobyl disaster occurred in the early hours of April 26, 1986, in Soviet Ukraine. Nearly 39 years after the worst nuclear disaster in history, Russia’s brazen attack on the $2 billion New Safe Confinement (the sarcophagus enclosing the destroyed reactor) in February 2025 poses a new potential radioactive danger as engineers race to repair the damage. The Kyiv Independent’s Kollen Post dives into why the restoration is not as simple as it may seem.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.