March 23, 2022

Roman Sohn

Ariana Gic

DEUTSCH ENGLISH ESPAÑOL FRANÇAIS ITALIANO NEDERLANDS POLSKI SLOVENČINA TÜRKÇE ČEŠTINA российский УКРАЇНСЬКА

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SIGNATORIES

7 1

Organizations

3 1 8 8

Individuals

7 5

Countries

Why NATO must act in Ukraine NOW!

Russia's genocidal war on Ukraine has the objective of extinguishing Ukraine as an independent nation.

Russian armed forces are obliterating Ukraine with terrorist tactics which have caused the largest humanitarian crisis in Europe since the Second World War.

Russian armed forces commit war crimes and crimes against humanity on an industrial scale.

NATO's intervention in Ukraine would be absolutely legitimate and lawful.

NATO is the only actionable force to implement the will of the international community to stop Russian aggression.

The objective of NATO's mission in Ukraine will be to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe which carries international consequences far beyond Ukrainian borders.

NATO must defend its values of liberty, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law from rogue terrorist Putin’s Russia.

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SIGNATORIES

7 1

Organizations

3 1 8 8

Individuals

7 5

Countries

NATO Must Act in Ukraine NOW!

We, the undersigned political leaders, experts, and representatives of civil society of Ukraine and of various countries around the world, call on the governments of NATO member states to act on your commitment to defend our common values of liberty, democracy, human rights and the rule of law, which are under attack by Russia.

As people across continents witness the heartbreaking suffering of Ukrainian people under barbaric Russian attack, governments of NATO countries are at a decisive moment in history which demands a resolute action to finally stop Vladimir Putin’s rogue regime.

We ask the leaders of NATO countries to acknowledge three key points.

One, Putin’s Russia has become an outlaw terrorist state threatening world peace.

Two, Russia is waging a genocidal war on Ukraine to extinguish Ukraine as an independent nation.

Three, Russia’s main objective is to see the end of the rules-based international order.

That is why we call on NATO nations to embrace their historical mission to protect the future of the free world by taking action in Ukraine now.

We must all stand united to act because:

Russia's genocidal war on Ukraine has the objective of extinguishing Ukraine as an independent nation. Russian armed forces are obliterating Ukraine with terrorist tactics which have caused the largest humanitarian crisis in Europe since the Second World War. Russian armed forces commit war crimes and crimes against the humanity on an industrial scale:

The Russian army is directly targeting civilians. In only four short weeks, Russia has killed and wounded many thousands of civilians, including children and infants.
Russia is deliberately destroying civilian infrastructure, including critical infrastructure, and erasing whole Ukrainian cities, towns, and villages making them uninhabitable.
Russia captured two Ukrainian nuclear power plants and created a risk of a regional environmental catastrophe.
Russia is using nuclear blackmail against Ukraine and the world.
Russia is conducting mass expulsions of people from the cities it has captured, forcibly relocating them.
Russian soldiers are abducting, torturing, sexually assaulting, and raping Ukrainian civilians on the orders of the higher Russian political and military command to intimidate and terrorize the civilian population.
Russian forces are persecuting Ukrainians for ethnicity, language, religion, and political views.
Russian forces are engaged in the unlawful appropriation and plunder of private and public property, including homes, businesses, factories, places of worship, etc.
Russian forces are deliberately destroying food storage facilities, appropriating thousands of tons of Ukrainian wheat, and destroying critical infrastructure of the agricultural industry thereby exposing millions to the risk of starvation in Ukraine and food shortages in other countries.
Russia’s war has already displaced over 10 million people, with more than 3 million seeking refuge abroad.
In the midst of a once in a century pandemic, Russia’s war has forced millions of people into conditions of elevated risk of becoming infected with COVID, adding further risk to their health and lives.

NATO's intervention in Ukraine would be absolutely legitimate and lawful.

As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, Russia is unlawfully preventing any effective action of the Security Council under the UN Charter to restore peace in Ukraine and prevent further humanitarian crisis.
On March 2, 2022, the United Nations General Assembly, in a vote with overwhelming support, recognized Russia's war as unlawful and demanded that Moscow immediately completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from Ukraine.
On March 16, 2022 the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued its order for Russia to immediately suspend its military operations in Ukraine, including by any irregular armed units directed or supported by Moscow.
Ukraine may enter into agreements with NATO or any country willing to offer military help to Ukraine based on the UN Charter which secures Ukraine's right of collective self-defence against an armed attack.

NATO is the only actionable force to implement the will of the international community to stop Russian aggression.

It is a chance for NATO to redefine itself in the twenty first century. The longer Moscow is allowed to drop dumb bombs and use precision missiles to level Ukrainian cities, the greater the scale and cost of destruction will be to the path of NATO’s involvement.

The objective of NATO's mission in Ukraine will be to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe which carries international consequences far beyond Ukrainian borders.

Morality should not end at NATO borders. NATO’s first action in Ukraine should be to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine to protect civilian life and critical infrastructure, including Ukraine’s nuclear infrastructure, from intentional or accidental destruction by Russian forces. For that purpose, NATO can deploy anti-air defence systems and air drones to intercept Russian missiles targeting civilian populated areas in the sky over Ukraine.

We encourage NATO nations to form a united front at a time of unprecedented challenge to global peace and security which will define the future of our world for decades to come.

All our nations stand to lose from the unraveling of the rules-based international order. If we want the world to prosper, global security must take priority over limited national or commercial interests.

We call on NATO nations to provide all material, financial, and military assistance to the government of Ukraine to help it defend the country and defeat the aggressor.

By thwarting Russia’s aggressive regime in Ukraine, NATO nations will also be protecting the peace and security of the entire European continent and beyond. Help Ukraine to save Europe.

And finally, we call on the leaders of NATO nations to find the resolve to act on our joint responsibility to protect humanity from repeating the devastating lesson of history of the twentieth century when a fascist regime threatening world peace was not stopped in time.

About authors:

Roman Sohn

Legal expert, Chairman, Direct Initiative International Centre for Ukraine

Ariana Gic

Political and legal analyst, Director, Direct Initiative International Centre for Ukraine. Sanctioned by the Russian Federation.

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SIGNATORIES

7 1

Organizations

3 1 8 8

Individuals

7 5

Countries

SIGNATORIES

3 2 5 9

TOTAL

ORGANISATIONS

7 1

Organizations

Agency for Legislative Initiatives, Ukraine

Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations, Australia

Baltic World, Australia

Black Trident Defense & Security Group, USA

Bohdan Hawrylyshyn Family Foundation, Switzerland

British Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce (BUCC), Ukraine - United Kingdom

Canada for free Russia, Canada

Canada-Ukraine Parliamentary Program, Canada

Canadian Association of Crimean Tatars, Canada

Canadian Group for Democracy in Ukraine, Canada

Center for Civil Liberties, Ukraine

Center for Army Conversion and Disarmament Studies, Ukraine

Central and Eastern European Council in Canada, Canada

Centre for Eastern European Democracy, Canada

Center for Research Of Liberation Movement, Ukraine

Center for Strategic Studies, Ukraine

Center for US - Ukrainian Relations, USA

Centre d'étude et de réflexion pour l'Action politique (CERAP), France

CGS Strategy XXI, Ukraine

Civil movement "Vidsich", Ukraine

Common Action, USA

Council of United Syrians & Americans, USA

DEJURE Foundation, Ukraine

Direct Initiative International Centre for Ukraine, Netherlands - Ukraine - Canada

“East-West” Center for Information and Analysis, Ukraine

Economic Policy Research Centre, Georgia

Energy Industry Research Center, Ukraine

Environment - People - Law, Ukraine

Europäischer Austausch gGmbH, Germany

European Values Center for Security Policy, Czech Republic

Foreign policy council "Ukrainian Prism", Ukraine

Institute of Mass Information, Ukraine

International Association for Privacy Protection and Human Safety, Ukraine

International Volunteer Community InformNapalm, Ukraine

Internews Ukraine, Ukraine

“Join Ukraine” NGO, Ukraine

Kyiv Security Forum, Ukraine

Liberal Democratic League of Ukraine, Ukraine

Media Reform Center, Ukraine

MN Ukrainian American Advocacy Committee, USA

National Interests Advocacy Network ANTS, Ukraine

National Memorial to the Heavenly Hundred Heroes and Revolution of Dignity Museum (Maidan Museum), Ukraine

New Geopolitics Research Network, Ukraine

NGO “All Ukrainian Anticorruption Center”, Ukraine

NGO “Election Council US”, Ukraine

NGO «Euroatlantic Course», Ukraine

NGO "Forum of Ukrainians in the Czech Republic", Czech Republic

NGO "Hromadsko-Patriotychny Rukh AIST", Ukraine

NGO «Soldiers of the People», Ukraine

One Philosophy / UCMC, Ukraine

Razumkov Centre, Ukraine

Regional Council of Ukrainians of Crimea

Regional Public Charitable Foundation "Law and Democracy", Ukraine

Symphony orchestra INSO-Lviv, Ukraine

The Association of Jewish Organizations and Communities (VAAD) of Ukraine, Ukraine

The Independent Defense Anti-Corruption Committee, Ukraine

The Organization for the Defense of Four Freedoms for Ukraine, USA

The Ukrainians Media, Ukraine

The Ukrainian Society of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

The Washington Group, USA

Ukrainian-American Friendship & Cooperation Society, Ukraine

Ukrainian Association for the Club of Rome, Ukraine

Ukrainian Canadian Congress Niagara Branch, Canada

Ukrainian Free Kozaks of Australia, Australia

Ukrainian National Federation, Canada

Ukrainian National Women’s League of America, USA

Ukraine Support Fund, Canada

United Ukrainian American Organizations of New York, UCCA, USA

World Congress of Crimean Tatars, Turkey

World Council of Ukrainian Social Services, Canada

INDIVIDUALS

3 1 8 8

Individuals

Viktor Yushchenko, Ukraine

President of Ukraine, 2005-2010, Prime Minister of Ukraine, 1999-2001

Vaira Vike-Freiberga, Latvia

President of Latvia, 1999-2007

Andrius Kubilius, Lithuania

Prime Minister of Lithuania, 1999-2000 and 2008-2012, Member of European Parliament, Co-Chair of Euronest PA, Standing Rapporteur on Russia

Marko Mihkelson, Estonia

Member of Parliament of Estonia (Riigikogu), Chairman of Foreign Affairs Committee

Christopher Alexander, Canada

Distinguished Fellow, Macdonald-Laurier Institute, Canada’s minister of citizenship and immigration, 2013–2015, Member of Parliament, 2011-2015.