For Ukraine, for their Freedom and Ours ! - CSO

The Russian invasion of Ukraine threatens our future. The Russian Federation, which is waging an imperialist war in Ukraine, wants to destroy democracy throughout the world. As shown by the deportation of tens of thousands of children, the terrorist aggression of Putin's regime aims to erase the very identity and existence of Ukrainians. This is not a war between two states but between two systems ─ totalitarianism and democracy ─ and between two futures: the submission of the people to the Russian dictatorship or the freedom of Europe, of which Kyiv is the symbol. Because it is our values and our freedom that Putin is waging war on, only victory for Ukraine will guarantee peace in Europe.

For too long, the great European powers have refused to face reality. Vladimir Putin's totalitarian dictatorship threatens us and has never ceased to attack the freedom of peoples. In France, Russia has consistently pursued policies hostile to our institutions, as illustrated by the attempt to influence the second round of the 2017 presidential elections, the cyber attacks on hospitals and the flood of fake news by Kremlin hackers in France and Africa.

If Ukraine does not emerge victorious from this war of aggression, if the army of rapists and torturers is not routed, a conflict frozen by the cession of certain territories will allow Putin to strengthen himself by preparing a new assault with new weapons. We will then have to consider fighting for Chisinau and Tbilisi, before Riga, Tallinn, Vilnius and Warsaw, in a war with far greater consequences, involving NATO forces and affecting the daily lives of all European citizens.

We affirm that the defeat of the Russian aggressor, allowing Ukraine to regain its internationally recognised borders, is the only solution. It is the fairest, the most reasonable and the only 'realistic' solution because, whatever the advocates of Realpolitik may say, Putin's regime has never yielded to anything but force.