By David Swanson, World BEYOND War, August 11, 2025
I hate to say I told you so. It’s obnoxious really. But sometimes it is an important point. In this case the point is this: the people who are always right about wars were right about the war in Ukraine, whereas the “experts” who are always on television and in government were, as usual, wrong.
Which of the following statements about the war with Russia comes closest to your personal views?
- Ukraine should continue fighting until it wins the war
- Ukraine should seek to negotiate an ending to the war as soon as possible
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Gallup asked that question three years ago, two years ago, one year ago, and this year. It asked it of Ukrainians. The first time, 72% of Ukrainians wanted Ukraine to continue fighting and only 22% to negotiate an end to the war. Most recently, 24% want to continue fighting and 69% want to negotiate an end to the war.
If you’re a good U.S. news consumer and follower of weapons-funded “leaders,” then you know perfectly well that Ukraine must keep fighting until it wins the war. After all, Putin will be invading Idaho by Thursday if an end to the war is negotiated. Or even if that doesn’t happen, the rule of law will collapse — it will be as if someone had destroyed Afghanistan and Iraq, fueled a genocide in Gaza, and sanctioned international courts for doing their jobs — total lawlessness!
That’s not a terrible argument — absurdly hypocritical and blinkered, but still a fair point in there somewhere. Only that’s not why you used to tell me that Ukrainians needed to fight on. Do you remember what the reason was? You told me it hundreds of times. Has it slipped your mind? It was that Ukrainians said in polls that they wanted the war to continue and who THE HELL did I think I was to dare to suggest otherwise?! I mean, it’s not as if I lived on the planet that a nuclear war would render uninhabitable. This was a decision for UKRAINIANS. UKRAINIANS! Why couldn’t I get that through my thick skull?
But now, after years of pointless killing, dying, wounding, traumatizing, and destroying, we’ve got 69% of Ukrainians telling pollsters they think an end to the war should be negotiated as soon as possible. I’m willing to bet that most, if not every last one, of those expressing that wise opinion would also now agree that such a negotiated end should have been achieved years ago. Nobody but war profiteers, sadists, and politicians clinging to power with rightwing support (yes, on both sides of this war) is better off for the now-desired negotiated end having been delayed so miserably long. Less than two years into Afghanistan and Iraq a majority in the U.S. said those wars should never have been started — including millions of people who had fervently denounced war protests months before. It’s not hard to predict something that happens over and over again.
The Ukrainian ruler says the war must go on, presumably because democracy. This may be difficult to hear, but there’s not a democracy in Ukraine or within 500 million miles of Ukraine. If we had actual democracies these wars would never get started. If we even thought in democratic terms, our priorities would be ending the mass killing and destruction, halting the arms trade to redirect resources into human needs, and devising credible means by which the residents of various sections of Ukraine — and not the Ukrainian or Russian government — can collectively make the best of the disaster they’ve been handed.
So, how can I claim that those who were prematurely for peace were “right” and those who didn’t want to sit down and end the war until years later were “wrong”? Because we said, over and over and over, that a negotiated peace would have to come sooner or later and better sooner, that people would come to understand this fact eventually — but by then we’d have more corpses and orphans, and that endless proclamations of victory just around the corner from both sides of an endless war are reasons to end the thing, not reasons to wave flags and cheer for the war machine.
“Helping Ukraine” has done exactly what we said shipping weapons to a slaughterhouse would do. It has hurt Ukraine. It has hurt Ukraine deeply, militarized much of the world, and thrown global agendas and priorities wildly out of whack. The way to help Ukraine was always going to be begun by negotiating an end to the war. Don’t believe me? Ask the Ukrainians! I’m not sure how you dare to defy their will.
13 Responses
David, you are right – and I could have told you so years ago!
From what I recall, all wars end with a bunch of men in suits (mostly) sitting at a table.
Of course, it is also oh so true what you write: “If we had actual democracies these wars would never get started.”
Not in Ukraine, nor Russia, nor the countries “helping” Ukraine…. we don’t have democracy. People don’t want war, especially after it breaks out but I dare say even before.
Are we all making that clear enough?
Thanx for your clarity
You are so right.
Although I would say that to fully understand what has happened in Ukraine, one needs to understand the way western governments have pushed us in this direction, by wanting total dominance.
It has been such a colossal mistake, in every way.
Now as western economies deteriorate, and the world is fast de-dollarizing, our leaders look so completely pathetic. They are pathetic! They are like little boys who just can’t admit that they made a mistake.
You don’t take into any account the personalities of the leaders tied together in war. Putin desires to WIN. To DESTROY Ukraine. Remember Chamberlain ?? I do. He tried desperately to negotiate a way out of WW-2 at any cost. What happened ? He only appeased Hitler who had an ulterior motive for continuing his relentless march through many nations. The HAWKS predicted exactly what would happen. Hitler would commit suicide and bring the rest of Germany and Europe down with him. The West was forced to arm to the teeth because of the gross failure of appeasement. Yes. The HAWKS did say “I told you so !!!” We should have destroyed the Nazis in their womb in 1933.
My reply is better as a pair of links than a pair of sentences:
https://davidswanson.org/lwwiib
https://worldbeyondwar.org/list
Please stop Trump from everything that you’re doing is unconstitutional turn the world upside down and backwards. Do not give up and do not back down.
Why no mention of the idiot European leaders, who are currently the most gungho to fight to the last Ukrainian?
When 72% of Ukrainians polled wanted to continue the war 3 years ago how many of the polled lived in the Donbas and Crimea?
My impression is that the further west the greater the opinion in favor of more war
This process is hopelessly one-sided. What would objective polls in Russia say? Please let us how such polls could be mounted. Or should we always acquiesce to the most powerful participant?
Daring to be a dissenter. Just a disclaimer first – I come from a family of refugees from the Hungarian uprising brutally quashed by the Soviet Russians in 1956. I am a peace lover! However, I do not trust Putin. He will insist on keeping Crimea and annexing Donbas. I cannot see a peace agreement without meeting these conditions. What will stop him from invading again in a few years and seeking more? He has stated clearly that Ukraine should be a part of Russia. Help me come to another conclusion!
There never would have been a war, if……
1: NATO had not been pushed to Russias borders, and defacto into Ukraine itself.
2: Ukraine had not been weaponised by US Neocons in order to destabilise Russia.
3: The US & Europe had not engineered the 2014 Maidan coup.
4: The leadership in Ukraine had not been so incredibly stupid as to go along with all the above.
The US Empire has had Slav killing Slav for 3+ years, and has wrecked Ukraine. If there is a plus, it is that Russia is much stronger, BRICS is rising, and The Empire will be much diminished when this is over. The last to the incalculable benefit of all humankind.
David, a lot of what you say is correct and I agree with it, but a couple of things spring to mind.
If only, if only, if only………..but it isnt.
In your world everybody is reasonable.
The reality is that you are dealing with deluded psychopaths who do not listen to reason. They will not be ‘reasonable’ whilst sitting around the negotiating table. They view ‘reason’ as bombing civilians and sacrificing a million of their own troops in a war to satisfy their ego dreams.
Yes, they have worn down some Ukrainians to think that capitulation is the least worst option, but I doubt their aggression will ever be satisfied.
So a puzzle for all you ‘if only’ people :
1939, Hitler gains power and declares that Slavs are an inferior race and Polish people should be annihilated to make way for Greater Germany:
You are Polish. You are in Warsaw with your children. Do you:
Fight Hitler
Stand with a white flag of peace
Ask to negotiate (I think we could predict the response from Hitler)
I think the reality of the Ukrainian situation is that negotiation equals capitulation and you should be honest about that and not portray it as somehow reasonable and honourable.
My reply is better as a pair of links than a pair of sentences:
https://davidswanson.org/lwwiib
https://worldbeyondwar.org/list