Ukraine’s third president, Viktor Yushchenko, has written an open letter to US President Donald Trump, criticizing the idea of making concessions to Russia, trading in Russian fuel, and calls to restrict Ukrainian strikes on facilities that sustain Moscow’s war effort. He reminded Washington of the Budapest Memorandum and warned that attempts to reach deals with an aggressor could lead to an even greater tragedy.
In his letter, Yushchenko dispensed with diplomatic formalities, explaining that he wanted to address the American leader “from one human being to another, and from one president to another.”
The former Ukrainian president stressed that Ukrainians want peace but are unwilling to sacrifice their territory or the future of generations to come to achieve it.
“Ukrainians have never sought what belongs to another nation. But neither have we ever willingly surrendered what is ours,” Yushchenko wrote.
He was particularly critical of discussions about possible concessions to Vladimir Putin. In his view, the Kremlin interprets such signals not as opportunities to end the war, but as signs of weakness.
“And when there is talk of ‘concessions’ or deals with Putin, the Kremlin’s answer is more missiles, more drones, and more bloodshed. Ukrainian families pay the price,” the former president wrote.
Another major point of criticism concerned Russian diesel. Yushchenko condemned decisions allowing trade in Russian energy resources, arguing that the resulting revenue helps Moscow finance its war.
“Money paid for Russian fuel is not an abstraction called ‘commerce.’ It finances an economy geared toward total war,” he warned.
To illustrate the dangers of economic engagement with aggressive regimes, Yushchenko turned to American history. He recalled US trade with Japan before World War II and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
According to the former president, history demonstrates how dangerous it can be to believe that economic concessions will prevent aggression.
Another central argument in Yushchenko’s letter concerned the 1994 Budapest Memorandum.
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He recalled that Ukraine had given up the nuclear arsenal it inherited following the collapse of the Soviet Union, relying on international security assurances. The United States was among the countries that signed the agreement.
“Ukraine kept its word. Russia broke its word,” the English version of his letter states.
Yushchenko emphasized that the consequences of broken international commitments extend far beyond Ukraine. Other countries, he argued, are watching to see whether agreements with major world powers can still be trusted.
“Every nation in the world is watching and asking whether agreements with great powers mean anything. They are asking whether giving up nuclear weapons makes a country safer—or more vulnerable. And they are watching America,” he wrote.
Toward the end of his letter, Yushchenko urged Trump not to mistake Ukrainians’ desire for peace for a willingness to surrender.
He stressed that Russian missiles may destroy Ukrainian cities, but they cannot erase Ukrainian identity or force the nation to abandon its statehood.
“We will never yield our land willingly to anyone. This is our home, given to us by God. We were here, we are here, and we will always be here. We cannot be intimidated by missiles, and we cannot be forced to surrender,” Ukraine’s third president declared.
Yushchenko concluded his letter to the American president with an uncompromising message:
“One does not negotiate with tyrants—one stops them.”
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