‘From a position of strength’
Four years after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, EU continues to make demands that block a peace settlement – against the will of a large section of the Ukrainian population.
BERLIN/KIEV (own report) – Four years after Russian tanks entered Ukraine, demands by Germany and other European states are still preventing a negotiated end to the fighting. An article jointly penned by the foreign ministers of Germany, France and Poland argues that Ukraine can only achieve a “lasting and just” peace “from a position of strength”. However, a “position of strength” is not in sight for Kiev, so if it is to be achieved the war must grind on. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is convinced that the fighting will “only end when one of the two sides is exhausted”. In Ukraine itself, 40 per cent of the population now supports relinquishing the Donbas in exchange for Western security guarantees and a quick end to the war. The European Union, however, has been hardening its position. As a consequence, a negotiated solution looks increasingly unlikely. A recent discussion paper by EU Foreign Affairs Representative Kaja Kallas contains several demands on Moscow that would only be enforceable if Russia agreed to an almost unconditional surrender. The demand for a complete withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine is a case in point.
Maximalist demands
The paper by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Representative Kaja Kallas – as recently revealed by the US broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) – contains demands on Moscow that the American broadcaster candidly describes as “maximalist”.[1] Not only does it state that all Russian troops must be withdrawn from the occupied Ukrainian territories, but it also stipulates “a ban of (sic) Russian military presence and deployments” in Belarus, Moldova (referring to its breakaway region of Transnistria), Georgia (referring to the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia), and Armenia. Russian or Soviet, forces have been stationed in some of these territories for decades. The EU authors of the paper also demand that Moscow pay compensation not only to Ukraine but also “for damages to European states and European companies”. The paper even sets out requirements concerning Russia’s internal affairs: “free and fair elections” must be held across Russia with international monitoring; “political prisoners” must be released; and “the foreign agents law”, designed to curb foreign influence on the media and politics in Russia, must be repealed. In addition, the paper demands “full cooperation” by the Russian authorities with the EU in investigating the circumstances surrounding the deaths of government opponents Alexei Navalny and Boris Nemtsov.
‘What Russia must do’
It is a paper that has little chance of being implemented unless Russia capitulates more or less unconditionally. Kallas reportedly presented it at a meeting of EU ambassadors last week and at the EU foreign ministers’ summit on Monday this week. If peace is desired, then it is not just a matter of Ukraine making concessions, an EU official is quoted as saying: “We also have to talk about what Russia must do” before any direct talks can begin.[2] The debate on Russian concessions remains rhetorical to the extent that the EU, with its maximalist stance, is not a serious party in talks to end the war. However, this does not prevent Kallas from publicly declaiming her ultimatums. After Monday’s meeting of EU foreign ministers, she said it was now time to made demands of Russia, such as “respect for borders, the end of sabotage, and the paying of war damages”.[3] Kallas did not share any further quotes from her paper with the public. She simply declared that “Russia’s maximalist demands cannot be met with a minimalist response.” This stance must, she said, be made clear before holding any talks with Russian representatives.
‘Risk to the Schengen area’
Kallas has since adopted another demand that was originally advanced by the Estonian government on the fourth anniversary of the start of the war and then taken up by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. This demand, in Zelensky’s version, is that “all those involved in Russian aggression must be completely excluded from the whole of Europe.”[4] It specifically means that all Russian soldiers who have fought in the Ukraine war in the past or who are currently doing so or will do so in the future should be banned from entering the EU. They pose “a direct risk to the Schengen Area”, claims an Estonian discussion paper. There are reports that this position is actually being seriously considered in Brussels. Observers admit that the measure would be difficult to implement, not least because hundreds of thousands, if not more than a million names would have to be collected and fed into the Schengen Information System. More likely would be the inclusion of a mandatory question on application forms for Schengen visas, asking whether the applicant has been active in the Russian armed forces since 24 February 2022. A yes answer would then be automatically considered grounds for rejection.[5]
‘As unyielding as the Ukrainians’
The EU’s maximalist demands would make a negotiated resolution to the war virtually impossible. They have been widely supported by media editorials calling for “blood, sweat and tears”. Some try to draw comparisons with appeasement of the Nazis – an analogy often made in Germany. On the anniversary of the Russian incursion into Ukraine, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung wrote that “a triumph” against Ukraine by Russia would “do as little to dissuade Russian President Vladimir Putin from making further war plans as did the abandoning of the Sudetenland to deter Hitler from invading Poland.”[6] Following this logic, Europeans must be “as unyielding as the Ukrainians” in “standing up to Putin”. The number of war dead is believed to be in the hundreds of thousands. The cost of rebuilding the country was recently estimated at 500 billion euros.[7] The Frankfurter Allgemeine goes on to say that “donor countries” will have to make whatever “financial sacrifices” it takes to weaken Russia, especially “less welfare state” and “higher taxes”. The FAZ opinion piece suggests that a dose of war preparation is good for society: “More ... military readiness would suit the Germans well.” “Not only the Bundeswehr, but the entire republic” must show Moscow “that in the event of war, it would defend its freedom as bravely as Ukraine.” The same commentator recently penned a strong criticism of the Chancellor for saying that he doesn’t advocate a German nuclear bomb.[8]
To the point of exhaustion
The fundamental strategic decision that lies behind the EU’s maximalist demands and the media’s “blood, sweat and tears” slogans was spelled out by the foreign ministers of Germany, France and Poland – Johann Wadephul, Jean-Noël Barrot and Radosław Sikorski, respectively – in an article marking the anniversary of the start of war. According to the three ministers, their aim must be to “achieve a peace that is lasting and just” but Ukraine could “only achieve such a peace from a position of strength”.[9] And at present, this was not in sight on the battlefield, they admitted. Playing the long game, Wadephul, Barrot and Sikorski affirmed that “our will to support is unshakeable.” Last week, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that the war in Ukraine would “only end when one of the two sides is exhausted, either militarily or economically.”[10] So everything would, he reaffirmed, have to be done to prevent Ukraine from becoming “exhausted”.
A divided population
The people of Ukraine have long been divided on this issue of attrition. Not the whole of society goes along with the relentless slogans of perseverance and sacrifice coming from Berlin and Brussels. A recent survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) asked whether people would support a move to cede the Donbas to Russia in exchange for Western security guarantees. Although 52 per cent responded that this was “completely unacceptable” to them,[11] some 40 per cent were in favour of such a solution in principle. And 31 per cent found it “difficult but acceptable in principle”, while nine per cent even believed it was a scenario they could be “easily” agreed to.
[1], [2] Rikard Jozwiak: Russia Concessions and Ukraine’s Ambitious EU Bid. RFE/RL: Wider Europe.
[3] Foreign Affairs Council: Press conference by High Representative Kaja Kallas. eeas.europa.eu 23.02.2026.
[4], [5] Thomas Gutschker, Stefan Locke: Selenskyj will ein Beitrittsdatum. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 25.02.2026.
[6] Berthold Kohler: So tapfer wie die Ukrainer. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 24.02.2026.
[7] Knapp 500 Milliarden Euro für Ukraine-Wiederaufbau nötig. deutschlandfunk.de 23.02.2026.
[8] Berthold Kohler: Die Furcht des Kanzlers vor der Bombe. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 19.02.2026.
[9] Johann Wadephul, Jean-Noel Barrot, Radoslaw Sikorski: Wir haben einen langen Atem. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 24.02.2026.
[10] Russland befindet sich laut Merz im „Zustand der tiefsten Barbarei“. spiegel.de 19.02.2026.
[11] Public opinion in the context of Russia’s attempts to plunge Ukraine into darkness and cold: results of a survey conducted on January 23-29, 2026. kiis.com.ua 02.02.2026.
