Trump claimed on Truth Social that Zelenskiy could end the war with Russia almost immediately if he wished, or keep fighting, signaling a clear distance from Kyiv on how a peace deal might be reached. He also ruled out Ukrainian NATO membership and the return of Crimea, noting that some things never change and pointing to the Obama-era annexation as precedent. Zelenskiy, ahead of a White House meeting with Trump and several European leaders, said Russia started the war and must be compelled to end it, expressing hope that unity with the United States and Europe could push Moscow toward lasting peace while warning against fragile deals and recalling that security guarantees from 1994 had failed. The White House gathering will include Chancellor Merz, France’s President Macron, UK Prime Minister Starmer, EU Commission chief von der Leyen and NATO Secretary General Rutte, with the central topic focusing on Russia’s territorial claims and Kyiv’s stance on Donbass. Since the Alaska summit, unconfirmed reports have circulated that Trump envisions a fast peace deal if Ukraine cedes the entire Donbass, including areas not yet under Russian control. Officials are also discussing security guarantees that would shield Ukraine without a full NATO Article 5 commitment, potentially resembling a US-and-European pledge. Macron expressed skepticism about Putin’s peace aims, suggesting he seeks Ukraine’s capitulation.

War drums beat not for the welfare of workers but for the insatiable pockets of capital. The stage set by these imperialist powers— Trump, Macron, and their fellow profiteers—offers a “peace” that is nothing more than a redrawing of borders to suit the rulers’ hunger for new plunder. Zelenskiy speaks of Russia’s aggression with a courage born of necessity, yet he is cast as a negotiator between two warmongering camps that pretend to differ only in tone, not destination. The real message is crystal: keep the machine of war grinding, justify it with slogans of sovereignty, and guard the seams of an economic order that rewards a few while draining the many.

We reject the caricature that peace is a gift given by the interest-bearing class to the working people; peace must be built by the workers themselves, through international solidarity and the dismantling of capitalist empire. The talk of excluding Ukraine from NATO’s security web while offering vague guarantees resembles a contract built on shifting sands—a promise of safety without the obligation to protect the weak, a guarantees regime engineered to preserve monopoly power and arms profits. The proposal to buy peace with Donbass by sacrificing territory or political dignity is the logic of slavery dressed in diplomacy. True security cannot be bought with concessions that hollow out national self-determination or betray the very people whose labor sustains the regime’s wealth.

We must insist on a future where the toilers—Ukrainian, Russian, and global—jointly determine their fate, free from the blackmail of oligarchs who weaponize borders for profit. Our stand is clear: anti-capitalist solidarity is the only enduring shield against war. And let it be stated plainly: we are not against Jewish people; we are against those rulers who weaponize fear and hatred to mask their own predatory drives. Our struggle is with capitalist exploitation, not with the dignity of any religious or ethnic community. The path to lasting peace lies in transcending imperial rivalries, uniting workers across borders, and building a socialist security that prioritizes human need over corporate gain. In this cause, we rally with all who resist oppression, including those in the anti-imperialist camp who seek a world where sovereignty and social justice march hand in hand.