“Evil cannot be appeased. It must be defeated and punished for the sake of the secure future of Ukraine, Europe, and the entire world,” reads an open appeal of Ukrainian public figures to world leaders and the international community, signed by more than 160 influential people. This appeal was created with the support of the Global Ukraine project (a series of geopolitical seminars from the UCU Business School with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation).
On January 5, 2025, Ukrainian public figures published an open appeal to world leaders and the international community on the issues of a just end to the war and the establishment of sustainable peace. The document was signed by more than 160 people, including human rights activists, MPs, diplomats, scholars, famous artists, leaders of major business associations and various religious communities (Christian, Muslim, and Jewish), including UCU Business School professors Yaroslav Hrytsak and Valeriy Pekar, Yevhen Hlibovytsky, Myroslav Marynovych, Valeria Kozlova, Andriy Dligach, Yevhen Hlibovytsky, Oksana Gudzovata, as well as CEO Yaryna Boychuk and founding dean and vice rector for strategic development of UCU Sofia Opatska, Natalia Klymovska, vice rector of UCU, and Taras Dobko, rector of UCU, and others.
The appeal, titled “Do not appease evil,” highlights the Ukrainian vision of Russia’s far-reaching subversive goals, and outlines positive and negative scenarios for ending the war, which depend on the position of world leaders and the international community.
“Do Not Appease Evil” unfolds the Ukrainian vision of Russia’s goals in this war and outlines scenarios for its end. The authors emphasize that the outcome depends on the position of world leaders and the international community. This call is a reminder of the importance of decisive action to win justice and peace.
One of the founders of the Global Ukraine project, Yaroslav Hrytsak, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor at the Ukrainian Catholic University, says:
“The idea of the appeal came from a working group that was formed during the implementation of the Global Ukraine project. A series of meetings with leading experts from China, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Russia, and the United States led to the realization that it is important to state to Western governments the position of civil society in Ukraine on possible scenarios for ending the current war, in particular to warn of the danger of seeking a solution by appeasing Putin.
The main ideas and structure of the document were developed at a meeting of the group in Pushcha Voditsa, near Kyiv, on December 14-15, as part of the Global Ukraine project, and the work itself was the result of an intensive exchange of views over the next two weeks. At the same time, work is underway on a new appeal to Ukrainians themselves, as well as preparations for new meetings with Western and Ukrainian experts. The ultimate goal of this group’s work is to draw up a new development strategy, which is sorely lacking in Ukraine and which should respond to new challenges and opportunities in the global world.”
One of the project creators, Valeria Kozlova, a lecturer at UCU Business School, also shared her reflections:
“For the third year in a row, there has been a full-scale Russian invasion of the territory of sovereign Ukraine. Ukrainian soldiers are courageously and steadfastly defending the borders and land of our country. At the same time, Ukrainian society is consolidating and the entire world is becoming Ukrainianized. According to historian Yaroslav Hrytsak, citizens are facing a challenge: how to consolidate not only with each other, but also with the forces of the world, and to reverse the widespread strategy of appeasement towards the forces of evil. But consolidation between countries cannot be achieved without consolidating ourselves. The project of the Global Ukraine seminar series is the result of bringing together different lines of thought from public figures, intellectuals, businessmen, politicians, and religious leaders. We have done an incredible job, considering how difficult it is to bring together people of this caliber, especially in the constant chaos of war. Active business and students of the UCU Business School, together with their professors Yaroslav Hrytsak and Valeriy Pekar, have become the driving force behind such a relevant project as Global Ukraine. Creating Impact.”
Yaryna Boychuk, CEO of UCU Business School, comments:
“The power of institutions lies in creating the preconditions and environment for productive and effective discussions. This open letter is one of the most important results of the project. It is very important that the creators of the Sustainable Peace Manifesto also joined the project to write this letter, which makes our position and efforts consistent and further strengthens the powerful community of public leaders that has been formed over the 8 months of the Global Ukraine project’s seminar series. The attention to this appeal among the signatories, and already in the first two days in Ukraine and abroad, shows the importance of such unity and finding words that speak for the majority of Ukrainians.”
Also, one of the project’s co-creators, Valeriy Pekar, responded to the criticism that followed the publication of the appeal on his Facebook page and expressed his opinion on it. You can read more about this here.
The Global Ukraine project is a series of geopolitical seminars organized to systematically discuss the global context in which Ukraine is developing in order to make better decisions – with a focus on war, the new world order and scenarios, global issues in Ukraine, international and Ukrainian transformations. The project of the UCU Business School is being implemented with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation.
Source: UCU Business School