The ‘Baturyn Tragedy’ – History Repeats Itself

As current bloody events are unfolding in Ukraine, it should be noted that their origins can be found not in 2022 or 2012 but rather centuries ago. Russia hasn’t transformed its inhuman, imperial ways since the earliest days of its so-called holy Russian empire as it has been drooling over the Ukrainian prize for hundreds of years.

This iteration of Russia’s invasion and war against Ukraine demonstrates that as far as wars go, this one isn’t a matter of opposing armies meeting on the battlefield in hopes of wiping each other out. In this war, Russia is hellbent on causing as much destruction to civilian structures and infrastructures as well as indiscriminate death of as many innocent Ukrainian men, women and children engaged in their regular daily activities as it can with its drones and ballistic missiles.

Perhaps you recall the coldblooded murders of civilians in Bucha at the start of the war, or the Palm Sunday attack a few weeks ago, or the deadly missile attacks this week and last as Russian officials stall and lie about starting a truce.

Killing Ukrainian civilians as it seeks to achieve its imperial mission of building a global empire is Moscow’s historical modus operandi. Killing Ukrainians is what Russians do. The irony of this is that these crimes are committed as the world watches.

To show this, I’ve gathered long-standing historical accounts of Russia’s savage siege and slaughter of Ukrainians in the town of Baturyn more than three centuries ago that caught the attention and disgust of Europeans. Nothing in Russians’ mentality has changed since then.

The ‘Baturyn Tragedy’

Baturyn, a small northern Ukrainian town of 2,500 people, looks like a village with a huge museum today. Comparable to Kyiv in the 18th century and the capital of the Ukrainian Kozak state, it never regained its previous shape after the terrible massacre of 1708. In that year, Russian forces slaughtered all the 15,000 inhabitants including women and children and burnt the town to the ground.

The tragedy not only marked the decay of the Ukrainian Kozak state and its absorption into the Russian empire. The destruction of Baturyn, the greatest military arsenal and food store in Ukraine upon which Sweden’s king relied, enabled Russia to achieve victory over Sweden in the Battle of Poltava in 1709, which changed the course of the Great Northern War and secured Russia’s place among the great powers. Today, Russian President Vladimir Putin is seeking to revive this power, cynically speaking about “unity” between Ukrainians and Russians. Thanks to the efforts of historians during the last 30 years of academic freedom, the bloody nature of this “unity” has been revealed.

During the Great Northern War (1700–21), Hetman Mazepa of Ukraine ceased to consider himself loyal to Tsar Peter I due to his deception and on November 7 (October 28) 1708, when Charles XII of Sweden was on his way to Moscow but was forced to divert his forces toward central Ukraine, Mazepa joined the Swedish advance. He was followed by about 3,000 Kozaks and leading members of the Zaporozhian Army.

However, things had worsened with the outbreak of the Great Northern War between Muscovy and the Swedish Kingdom (1700-1721). Trying to turn the Moscow tsardom into a modern empire and mobilize forces, Peter I started taking Kozak troops from Ukraine for his war, exploiting the economy of the country and concentrating power. His decree of 1707 de-facto liquidated Kozak autonomy, which Mazepa was unwilling to accept.

At this point, Mazepa allied himself with Swedish King Charles XII. This was the beginning of the tragedy of Baturyn.

For a supply purpose, Baturyn was of key importance – the Kozak capital was heavily armed with nearly 100 cannons and a 6,000-strong garrison. Mazepa had amassed a huge storage of food and gunpowder that would be enough for the entire Sweden army.

At the end of October 1708, the hetman sent a letter to Colonel Skoropadskyi of Starodub outlining the reasons that led him to conclude the Ukrainian-Swedish alliance with Charles XII:

“Moscow has long had all sorts of intentions towards us, and recently began to seize Ukrainian cities, expel from them the plundered and impoverished inhabitants, and populate them with their troops. I had a secret warning from my friends, and I can clearly see that the enemy wants to take us – the hetman, all the officers, colonels and all the military leadership – into the hands of his tyrannical captivity, eradicate the Zaporozhian name and turn everyone into dragoons and soldiers, and to subject the entire Ukrainian people to eternal slavery. I learned about this and realized that Moscow came to us not to protect us from the Swedes, but to destroy us with fire, robbery and murder. And so, with the consent of all the officers, we decided to surrender to the protection of the Swedish king in the hope that he would defend us from the Moscow tyrannical yoke and restore our freedom.”

In late October of 1708, Peter dispatched to Baturyn an entire corps of 20,000 soldiers commanded by his right-hand man Generalissimus Aleksandr Menshikov. The order was to destroy the Cossack capital and supplies there at any cost. While the Swedish army, accompanied by Mazepa, was already rushing to the city, Russians had only five days for the siege, from October 27 to the morning of 2 September 2.

Menshikov, on the eve of the storming of Baturyn, commanded 20 dragoon regiments, numbering from 15 to 20 thousand dragoons. But at that time Baturyn was a fortress, armed with a large number of guns. In view of this, Menshikov tried to persuade the defenders of the fortress to surrender, but the Baturyns not only rejected the offer of capitulation but also responded with cannon shots at Menshikov's positions. The Russian Army failed to storm the fortified city, and only after penetrating through a secret raid did the twice-superior forces of Menshikov gain the advantage and at six o'clock in the morning, November 13 (2), 1708, entered Baturyn territory and insidiously attacked the defenders of the fortress. Despite fierce opposition from the garrison, within two hours, the Russian troops completed the capture of the city. When Hetman Mazepa later saw the consequences of the Baturyn massacre in Moscow, “this spectacle struck him in the heart”; Mazepa wept zealously for Baturyn, watching how much human blood in the city and suburbs was full of puddles. 

The bloody events in Baturyn are confirmed by many documentary sources.

Mykola Markevich (1804–60) wrote: Serdyuks were partly cut out, partly tied in one crowd with ropes. Revenge for yesterday, Menshikov instructed the executioners to execute them with various executions; the army, everywhere and always ready for plunder, was scattered in the homes of the common people, and, without dismantling the innocent from the guilty, exterminated civilians, spared neither women nor children. "The most common death was to quarter the living, wheel them and put them on a stake, and then new kinds of torment were invented, it is the imagination that terrifies. 

Alexander Rigelman (1720–1789) described the events as follows:

“Menshikov received the city, people are all devoted to the sword, both in the fortress and in the suburbs, without remnants, not sparing even infants, not only the old.” 

According to the French historian Jean-Benoit Scherer (1741–1824): “The city was taken and looted. What the soldiers could not take with them was the prey of the fire, which devoured even part of the city. The fortifications were completely destroyed, and the inhabitants of the city died, subjected to the most brutal torture: some were put on stilts, others were hanged or quartered.[6]

Menshikov failed to capture the city during several attacks, but succeeded the night before Mazepa’s arrival, on September 2. It is still unclear how he could capture this heavily armed city with a quite big garrison of about 6,000 men.”

In late October of 1708, Peter dispatched to Baturyn an entire corps of 20,000 soldiers commanded by his right-hand man Generalissimus Aleksandr Menshikov. The order was to destroy the Kozak capital and supplies there at any cost. While the Swedish army, accompanied by Mazepa, was already rushing to the city, Russians had only five days for the siege, from October 27 to the morning of September 2.

Initially, Menshikov tried to persuade defenders of Baturyn but they kept their loyalty to Mazepa. According to the Moscow chronicler Ivan Zheliabuzkyi, who described the Baturyn garrison,

“He [Menshikov] sent negotiators many times demanding that the city be opened. But they didn’t listen and began to fire from artillery.”

The garrison was commanded by four Cossack colonels with the best-known Cossack infantry colonel Dmytro Chechel and artillery captain Friedriech Königseck. Born in Prussia, Königseck served with the Cossacks for many years and had an estate near Baturyn.

Menshikov failed to capture the city during several attacks, but succeeded the night before Mazepa’s arrival, on 2 September. It is still unclear how he could capture this heavily armed city with a quite big garrison of about 6,000 men.

The 19th-century Ukrainian historian Mykola Kostomarov (1817-1885) wrote about these events after thorough study of both folklore legends and written sources:

“One of the Kozak officers, Ivan Nis, came to Menshikov and showed him a secret way to get into Baturyn. Nis allegedly pointed the way in the Baturyn wall. Menshikov sent soldiers there. Simultaneously, an attack was launched from the other side.”

While exact details of how Muscovites captured the city remain unclear, the fact which all sources mention is the total massacre of almost all the 12,000-15,000 inhabitants (garrison and civilians including women, children, and infants) and the destruction of the city by fire. Only about 1,000 managed to escape.

The event was widely covered in the European press of the time, including newsletters such as the English Daily Courant, London Gazzete, French Paris Gazette, Lettres Historique, Gazette de France, and the German Wöchentliche Relation amongst others. They contained lengthy articles about Mazepa, his alliance with the Sweden king, and the destruction of Baturyn. Gazette de France wrote:

“All the inhabitants of Baturyn, regardless of age and sex, are slaughtered, accordingly to the inhuman customs of the Muscovites… The whole of Ukraine is bathed in blood.”

According to the Lyzohub Chronicle of that time, many people were burned to death in houses. According to the Swedish historian Anders Fryxell, who wrote the history of Charles XII,

“Menshikov ordered the corpses of the leading Cossacks to be tied to boards and sent floating along the Seim River so that they would give the news to others about the perdition of Baturyn.”

“Terrible massacre,” “All Ukraine in blood,” “Women and children on saber blades”—These were the headlines of the French newspapers Lettre Historique, Mercure Historique et Politique, Gazette de France and Paris Gazette in 1708.

The French were writing about the massacre in Baturyn, (a historic town in Chernihiv Oblast of northern Ukraine). Russian Tsar Peter the Great ordered the town to be razed to the ground. At the time it was the capital of renowned Ukrainian ruler Hetman Ivan Mazepa. The Russians killed between 11,000 and 15,000 civilians, children, women and the elderly.

One hundred years passed and the French had confirmation of the brutality of Russian troops, based on their own experience. In 1814, Russian troops joined allied forces invading France. Historian Henry Houssaye collected evidence of atrocities. Hundreds of eyewitnesses mentioned them :

“... Men were beaten with swords and stabbed with bayonets. Naked, bedridden, they had to be present during the violence against their wives and daughters. Others were tortured, beaten, and roasted until they opened their hiding places. Priests of Montlond and Rolampon were beaten to death on the spot… In Busy le Lon the Cossacks set fire to the legs of a servant left to guard the castle…”

The city itself was burnt entirely and quickly. Only the hetman’s archive, church bells, and some of the cannons were taken away by Muscovites while all the rest destroyed with many people burnt to death in their houses or churches where they tried to hide:

“Archaeologists studying the remains of the foundations of the hetman’s palace in the castle discovered that the fire was so intense that fragments of glass dishes had melted, and in some places the fire had even melted bricks. The massacre and destruction were so absolute that even two decades later eyewitnesses declared that ‘the city of Baturyn is entirely deserted, and everything in its bulwarks and walls has collapsed and become overgrown, and there is no new or old structure in both the castles, only two empty stone churches,’” Kovalenko wrote.

An interesting account of the aftermath of the storming of Baturyn was boastfully recorded in the diary of Peter I that Kovalenko cites:

“The city of Baturyn (where Mazepa the traitor had his residence) was taken without great losses, and we captured the foremost thieves, Colonel Chechel and the general Kozak captain, Königseck, with several of their confederates; and we killed the rest and burned down that city with everything and destroyed it to its foundations.”

Archaeological excavations in Baturyn have been conducted by Ukrainian researchers since 1995. In 2001, Canadian scientists joined them.

In 2005, the Baturyn Foundation was founded by President Victor Yushchenko and supported by several Canadian charities and academic organizations. That same year, 150 students and scientists from the Universities of Chernihiv and Nizhyn and the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy took part in the excavations, and the following year 120 students and scientists from universities and museums-reserves of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Hlukhiv, Rivne, Baturyn and the University of Graz (Austria).

In 1996–2007, archaeologists discovered 138 burials in Baturyn from the time of the reign of Mazepa, 65 of them belonging to those killed during the capture of Baturyn (mostly women, children and the elderly). Thus, in 17 of the 33 graves excavated in 2005, the skeletons of women and children were buried without a coffin or visible signs of Christian rites. 

The “Baturyn Tragedy” is the official name of the events in Baturyn, which was established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on April 2, 2008. President Victor Yushchenko has stated: “For me, the Baturyn tragedy is associated with the Holodomor of the 1930s, and it is immoral that there is still no monument to the innocent victims.” 

On November 21, 2007, the President of Ukraine signed the Decree “On Some Issues of Development of the National Historical and Cultural Reserve” Hetman’s Capital “and the Village of Baturyn,” which provides for the construction in 2008 of the Memorial Complex in memory of victims of Baturyn. 

On November 13, 2008, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine observed a minute of silence in memory of the victims of the Baturyn tragedy. Since 2018, the Day of Remembrance of the Baturyn Tragedy (November 2, 1708) has been commemorated at the state level in Ukraine. 

It should be apparent that the Baturyn Tragedy is vital to an understanding of Ukraine-Russia history, why Ukrainians behave the way they do, and Russian hatred for Ukraine and Ukrainians.  

“An understanding of Russian imperialism in Ukraine is essential for anyone seeking to make sense of today’s war. Putin has attempted to blame the invasion on everything from nonexistent Nazis to imaginary NATO security threats, but at heart it is an old-fashioned colonial war of extermination. In words and deeds, Russia has made clear that it seeks to destroy the Ukrainian state and erase Ukrainian identity. Asking Ukrainians to negotiate with this genocidal agenda is absurd and grotesque. Instead, the goal must be a decisive Ukrainian victory over Russian imperialism. Until Europe’s longest independence struggle reaches a successful conclusion, a sustainable peace will remain elusive,” observed Peter Dickinson, editor of the Atlantic Council’s UkraineAlert service.

And, finally, as Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meier observed, “We intend to remain alive. Our neighbors want to see us dead. This is not a question that leaves much room for compromise.”

‘The West cannot Allow Ukraine to Lose’

Speech by Valerii Zaluzhnyi, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (2021–24), delivered at the London Defense Conference on May 10, 2025. It is titled “New Security Alliances as an Alternative to the World Order of Dictatorships: The Future Belongs to Those Who Master Technology.”

It is highly symbolic to speak today, when the world should be commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of the war against fascism. Regrettably, the very country that once suffered under fascism—having appropriated the collective victory – now wages a brutal war of its own. As was the case 80 years ago, women and children are being killed, this time under the banners of propaganda. Conversely, the descendants of those who once surrendered under force are now doing everything, they can to defend the Ukrainian people. What has happened to the world?

First and foremost, I would like to express our deepest gratitude to you – our partners. Without your support  – financial, military, political, and moral – there would quite simply be no speech from me here today. Western assistance has enabled us to stand our ground. Of course, every delay has come at a high price for us. But by 2025, it has become clear that even this support is no longer sufficient. And I do not mean merely the quantity or timing of aid—though those still matter.

Today, I wish to speak about growing threats that are dismantling the global order and may soon bring every one of us to the point of needing support ourselves. These developments take place amid the war in Ukraine, where, it is clear to all, Ukrainian soldiers are fighting not only Russian forces, but also the combined resources—and now troops—of Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran.

Does it not strike you as strange that in the 21st century, exactly 80 years after the end of the bloodiest war in human history, there is a conflict raging in the very heart of Europe that has now lasted eleven years and claims more victims each day? Are you not alarmed? And what of the so-called global order—does it still exist?

Here is what the “global order” has meant for Ukraine. Try explaining it to children whose parents were killed at the front. It is impossible to explain it to parents who lost innocent sons and daughters. I can tell you what it is like to speak with mothers who do not even know where their children are, and who cling to hope for a miracle.

Let us examine what this “global order” meant for Ukraine prior to August 8, 2008. I return to that date deliberately, because it was then – when Russian missiles and shells began falling on Georgian cities – that this world order ought to have made itself known. But it remained silent, watching as one state permitted itself to kill the people of another. And what of the rules underpinning that order? The rules supposedly safeguarded by the United Nations? They, too, remained silent. Seventeen years later, in 2025, that same organization could not even officially acknowledge the daily killing of Ukrainians.

In 2014, the global order finally expressed concern. That concern culminated on February 24, 2022, when, as in 1941, new invaders launched a full-scale assault on Ukraine at 4 o’clock in the morning. Since then, Ukraine has lost tens of thousands of lives and hundreds of thousands have been wounded. Millions have lost their homes. Millions more have fled, seeking safety for their children. The occupied territories resemble apocalyptic wastelands.

Every day, the same enemy terrorizes civilians with rockets, bombs, and drones, specifically targeting women and children. Most men are at the front. This is what the global order has meant for Ukrainians: nothing. It did not exist in 2014, nor in 2022, nor today. Perhaps you believe you are more fortunate—after all, you are not Ukraine. You think it cannot happen to you. I must disappoint you. Many in Ukraine believed that, too—in 2008, and in 2014. Some of those very people, now fighting for the enemy, returned in 2022 to kill their former neighbors and relatives.

I find it especially interesting to observe those in Europe who were shocked by emotional speeches in Munich in 2025 yet were seemingly unmoved by eleven years of war next door in Ukraine.

As a result, Ukraine – excluded from the global order – has been forced to fight for the right to exist with weapons in hand, at the cost of our own people’s lives. And we will ensure that in any future global order, Ukraine is not excluded.

But that global order, as described in the works of liberal thinkers, is already gone. It collapsed under the pressure of discontent on one side, and fear and impotence on the other. Historically based on rules and the balance of power, the existing system has begun to fall apart. Rules should be enforced by the coercive capacity of global leaders—but those leaders are no longer willing or able to do so.

Rules for coexistence no longer apply. The institutions charged with enforcing them are now aligned with those who reject them.

Treaties have lost their force. The disintegration of the global security architecture calls into question the concept of international guarantees. The Budapest Memorandum is worth no more than NATO’s Article 5. The very idea of legal, diplomatic, or military security guarantees has been stripped of meaning. Ukraine’s own experience demonstrates that such guarantees no longer exist.

The old balance of power – the one we studied in our universities – has disappeared. It was not only morally lost, but physically. If someone today measures military strength against the standards of the Iraq war under Article 5, I feel compelled to express my sympathy.

Another important issue is morality – a concept few wish to mention today. The global order should have been grounded in universal human morality. But where is it? Human life must be the highest value. In the absence of effective political and legal regulation, moral principles should guide states. But even morality has been eroded – systematically dismantled by those who reject the existing order.

New information technologies have reshaped society, transforming communication. Traditional media has given way to social platforms. Filters that once slowed the spread of misinformation are gone. A madman can now become an “expert” overnight, influencing millions – and, by extension, national policy.

While one part of humanity indulged in comfort and debated fairness and inclusion, the other sharpened its blades and raised killers. Even the very institution once responsible for global morality could not bring itself to name the aggressor. For some, morality is murder. For others, it is just business.

So, let us ask the main question: what role do the existing alliances—once the cornerstone of the world order – now serve?

It is not easy, and not pleasant, to evaluate those who have helped us. But if we are to move forward, I must be honest and state my personal view.

I hope that NATO will pass this stress test, which was inevitable. I truly hope the challenge remains moral rather than material. But that is only my hope.

NATO is gripped by fear—fear of expanding to include countries like Ukraine, Moldova, or Georgia. This fear stems from Russia’s assertion that such countries belong to it. But then, what is NATO for if it fears having enemies? Can it still serve as a guarantor of security?

Fear of escalation, “red lines,” and other limits raises questions – even among some NATO members – about whether Article 5 would be honored. That is a deeply troubling signal.

I have often said that the nature of modern war has changed—and continues to change. I am not referring only to drones. Do not deceive yourselves into thinking you only need to reform your defense industries or rearm. You need a new national policy—akin to that seen during the harnessing of nuclear energy or the space race.

This is about science, production, military doctrine, and policy. New tactics, organization, training, and budgetary planning are required. And this transformation demands not only resources, but time. If NATO decided this evening to abandon tanks and focus on technology, it would take five years to reach the level Ukraine achieved in 2024. And by then, technology – and our adversaries – will have moved on.

The nature of modern warfare has outpaced NATO’s capabilities. Its current potential could be exhausted rapidly. A future multi-regional conflict would drain its resources even faster.

These are just a few examples of how to assess alliances realistically. I doubt that our adversaries are unaware of these weaknesses.

So, what should be done?

It starts with leadership—leaders courageous enough to face the truth and guide us into the future. Today’s politicians search for victories in the past: the Soviet Union, pre-1997 NATO borders, “Great America,” Greater Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, Imperial China.

But the world has changed. Technological progress makes returning to the past impossible. That is why we still have the chance to secure the future for our children.

Global problems demand global solutions. We must construct an alternative to the emerging world order of dictatorships.

The West cannot allow Ukraine to lose. Ukraine is the barrier to that authoritarian future.

The next step must be to build a new European security architecture. Given the direction of American policy, the transatlantic security contract appears to be ending.

Europe needs Ukraine as a shield. We have the largest army on the continent – an army that knows how to resist Russia and conduct high-tech warfare.

Ukraine needs Europe for investment and political and moral support.

Europe must consolidate. Today’s difficulties present an opportunity to forge a new alliance – first in security, then economically. Ukraine must be part of it. Without Ukraine, it cannot succeed.

New alliances and coalitions lie ahead. Rapid technological progress offers security – only to those who can form agile coalitions. Technological competition no longer depends solely on GDP. Intelligence tools, advanced weaponry, electronic warfare, and situational awareness are now within reach for almost any state.

At the same time, the war in Ukraine and global military developments show that no country—not even the United States – can dominate all aspects of modern defense technology. The US is falling behind in 5G, hypersonic weapons, electronic warfare, semiconductors, directed energy, and quantum technologies.

Therefore, joint development and sharing of advanced technologies, enhanced manufacturing, and resource consolidation will be vital for any state seeking security through technological superiority. Control over critical resources and technologies will be a matter of survival.

Finally: for such alliances, education and science are the best investments. Innovation will be the decisive competitive edge of the future.

‘Even from the Ashes of War, Democracy can Rise again’

Kaja Kallas’ keynote speech at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit in defense of democratic space delivered on May 13, 2025. Kallas is an Estonian politician and diplomat. She was the first female prime minister of Estonia, a role she held from 2021 until 2024, when she resigned in advance of her appointment as High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Since 2024, she has served in that role as well as Vice-President of the European Commission. Kallas is also one of the most ardent advocates on behalf of war-torn Ukraine in the global arena.

Dear ladies and gentlemen,

It's a pleasure to be back in Copenhagen.

This gathering matters more than ever, because democracy is no longer the global norm.

Six years ago, democracy was overtaken by autocracy for the first time in 20 years.

Today, liberal democracy is the least common model in the world. 72% of people live in autocracies, the highest proportion since 1978.

For some time, I have been reflecting on this topic. I want to share four key lessons with you today through the lens of my current role.

Lesson number one: Democracy is not instant gratification. Bold choices build democracy up.

I often think about democracy and autocracy as a relay race.

The autocrat jumps the gun, getting ahead early while the democrats are still deciding who does what.

But democrats, when they eventually move forward, can hand over the baton to fresh legs. Every team member contributes their skills and expertise. They cheer each other on.

As the saying goes, if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.

That’s democracy in a nutshell—hard work that pays off.

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the Baltic countries built democracy from scratch, guided only by the memory of what their forebears had created.

They rooted out corruption, built strong institutions, and established robust legal systems. This required a massive turnaround in attitudes and identity.

I was recently in the Western Balkans, where countries face many of the same choices the Baltics made in their reforms to join the European Union.

EU membership is a pathway to consolidating democracy. And the rewards don’t come overnight.

Yet democracy creates long-term prosperity, protects individual rights, guarantees freedom, and leads to peace.

Lesson number two: Democracies need hard defense.

Treaties alone never guarantee peace.

Georgia learned this in 2008.

Ukraine learned it in 2014 with the annexation of Crimea and now through three years of full-scale war from Russia.

We have the answer to the question of how to stop Russia’s historical cycle of aggression against democracies in our hands.

Strength deters aggressors. Weakness invites them in.

The strongest security guarantee is a strong Ukraine.

Kyiv cannot accept another Budapest Memorandum — words alone are never enough of a security guarantee.

That’s why the EU and its Member States are the biggest supporters of Ukraine’s military.

And why robust security guarantees must be part of any peace agreement in Ukraine.

And why last Friday, I also discussed with EU Foreign Ministers how to provide security guarantees.

Because the war will end. And once it ends, it must end for good.

To achieve that, we also need to increase pressure on Russia and strengthen Ukraine on the battlefield today.

Russia has asked for sanctions relief. We know the sanctions are working.

Last week, we proposed a 17th sanctions package.

We also set a 2027 deadline to sever energy ties with Russia. Europeans will deprive them of the means to hold us hostage over our energy ever again.

And we’ve just made available 1 billion EUR for Ukraine’s defense industry to support Ukrainian companies and secure additional military aid.

Peace has never been free.

The peace dividend is a myth.

We must invest in defense during peacetime to protect peace, our values, our democracy.

This is why the European Union is pulling every financial lever to strengthen European defense.

With the new REARM Europe plan, we will be able to mobilize up to 800 billion euro.

When the EU acts together we have a huge amount of strength.

It is time we transfer our economic might to military power.

Lesson number three: our adversaries are always ready to exploit divisions in our democracies.

Democracies run on disagreements.

As George Orwell wrote, "if liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear."

In a democracy, we base our disagreements on facts.

But we’re right back in an age of untruth. Fact checking has fallen out of fashion.

We form opinions and debate based on data. Policymakers take decisions based on data. Fact-checkers provide data.

Wherever there is massive public communication—including social media—we need fact checkers.

Otherwise, we only leave the door wide open to exploitation.

A second major problem is that foreign actors deliberately muddy the waters to exploit divisions.

It's a hybrid warfare tactic that often accompanies hot war—this is Russia's playbook.

And Russia, China, Iran, as well as others, operate massive military campaigns specifically to manipulate information spaces in democracies worldwide.

Last year alone, more than ninety countries were targets of attacks, from disinformation fueling farmers' protests in Germany, to interference in presidential elections in Romania and Moldova.

The evidence of foreign interference is there for all to see.

The EU is fighting back by exposing these operations and sanctioning perpetrators. But we must do more.

This morning, I met the young people who are part of the 2025 Alliance of Democracies Fellowship. And they are doing amazing things here.

Like OpenMinds, for example. They merge artificial and human intelligence to detect and help governments fight interference.

One of democracy's greatest privileges is participating in elections and choosing who we want to govern us, based on data.

If we truly want to defend our democratic space, we must fight foreign interference.

Lesson number four: it’s never too late to protect democracy or rebuild it.

The role of independent media for democracy cannot be overstated.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is a shining example. For countries under autocracy, it has long been a light in the dark.

Another of the fellows I met this morning runs a company whose work helps the public check the accuracy of what we read in the media. And this – media literacy – is equally important.

One of my objectives for the next long-term EU budget is to ensure the EU remains a reliable partner to protect free media and quality press globally.

This is especially important when Russia and China buy up media – including in Africa – only to control the narrative.

If you pull funding for independent media, you only help those who want to destroy democracy. One cannot exist without the other.

It is also deeply troubling that some countries are now labelling individuals or organizations who receive foreign funding as acting on behalf of foreign interests.

The result is simply a shrinking civic space and therefore a shrinking possibility for democracy to thrive.

Despite rising autocracy, democratic openings still persist.

Opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema won presidential elections in Zambia in 2021.

Last year, Sri Lankans voted out an autocratic leader. Protesters toppled a dictatorship in Bangladesh.

The fall of the Assad regime offers Syrians a chance to rebuild a country where every voice counts.

We must seize these openings.

Before Moldova’s elections, the EU worked with digital platforms including TikTok to combat disinformation and helped Moldova enact legislation to regulate its digital space.

I want us to continue this work.

Even from the ashes of war, democracy can rise again. And for this, accountability is key.

Last week in Lviv, we formally established a Special Tribunal to try the crime of aggression against Ukraine.

Accountability is how societies collectively grieve and move forward after unimaginable horror.

This was true after Nuremberg.

It will be true for Ukraine.

While others withdraw from responsibilities to uphold international law, the EU never will.

So let me sum up here.

We must fight for democracy. We cannot take it for granted.

Democracy is never a given, it is always a choice. We have to choose it every day. We have to be active citizens of our democracies.

Democracies have to defend themselves with hard power.

Because if we don’t, there are always others who will exploit our weaknesses.

We see the autocrats cutting the course, disabling opponents, or removing them altogether.

It’s up to us, to democracies, to defend the space and keep the race fair.

And opportunities for progress will always exist.

Because the will for freedom, choice, and democracy is an innate part of who we are as human beings.

Now more than ever, democracies must believe in their strength, defend themselves with hard power, and hold the spirit of victory.

Thank you.

 

Europe to Investigate Russian Crimes vs Ukraine after US Bows Out

With the United States bowing out of its earlier commitment to at least investigate Russian war crimes in Ukraine, an international coalition of European countries has agreed to establish a new international court to prosecute Russia’s top leaders for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The Special Tribunal for the Crimes of Aggression against Ukraine would target senior Russian leaders for the crime of aggression to cover the countless war crimes Ukraine accuses Russian forces of committing since the start of the war in 2022.

On Europe Day, the Commission, represented by Commissioner Michael McGrath, High Representative Kaja Kallas, the Council of Europe, the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal, and the representatives of an international coalition of 20 states gathered in historic Ukrainian city of Lviv, in the midst of the war that Russia launched against Ukraine, to formally endorse the establishment of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine.

All participants, as per the Lviv Statement adopted on May 9, 2025, welcomed the finalization of the preparatory work required to establish a Special Tribunal within the Council of Europe. They committed to establishing the Special Tribunal, to the swift commencement of its operations, and to supporting it in its work. The symbolism of the day was not missed by the attendees, as it demonstrated European unity on a day when Moscow marks its “victory day.”

“As we celebrate Europe Day, we move closer to justice for the people of Ukraine. We stand fully behind the Special Tribunal, to hold to account those responsible for the heinous crime of aggression against Ukraine. The people of Ukraine deserve justice, and we will do everything in our power to make sure they get it,” observed Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.

“Today we take a decisive step towards justice for Ukraine. The Special Tribunal will ensure that those most responsible for the aggression against Ukraine are held accountable. Every inch of Russia’s war has been documented. It leaves no room for doubt in Russia’s manifest violation of the UN Charter. It leaves no room for impunity. Russia’s aggression will not go unpunished,” said Kaja Kallas, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission.

“Today marks a defining moment for justice, international law, and the future of Ukraine. We are moving forward — not just with words, but with concrete tools: we endorse the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine. We are leading the charge for justice, to bring perpetrators of this illegal war of aggression to account and to assert our unwavering commitment to let the rules-based order triumph over aggression, arbitrary rule, and impunity,” said Michael McGrath, Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection.

Foreign ministers from the so-called “core group” of at least 37 countries signed the Lviv statement, the document marking the conclusion of work done to draft the necessary legal instruments for the tribunal.

The tribunal could start operating next year.

“This tribunal will ensure that those most responsible for the aggression against Ukraine are held accountable,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told reporters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said it was a moral duty for Europe to hold Russia accountable for the war. “A strong tribunal for the crime of aggression can – and must – make any potential aggressor think twice,” he said in a video address to the meeting.

The establishment of the Tribunal will be based on an agreement between Ukraine and the Council of Europe. It is now up to the Council of Europe to set up the necessary framework to establish the Special Tribunal, which will derive its jurisdiction from Ukraine.

Once the Special Tribunal is established, Ukrainian national authorities will be able to refer ongoing domestic investigations and prosecutions related to the crime of aggression to the Prosecutor of the Special Tribunal. The evidence gathered in the context of the work carried out within the International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression (ICPA), which is hosted within Eurojust will also be transmitted to the Prosecutor of the Special Tribunal as appropriate.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague has already issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and another Russian official for the forced deportation of children and strikes on Ukraine's energy targets.

But Russia is not a member of the ICC, so it cannot prosecute Putin and other senior leaders for the decision to launch the invasion. Ukrainian and European leaders came up with the special tribunal as an alternative way to hold Russian leaders to account.

“This tribunal is being set up to pass appropriate sentences in the future,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said in Lviv on the day of the signing.

He added Kyiv wanted the “inevitable punishment for all,” including the “president of Russia, the prime minister of Russia, and the foreign minister of Russia.”