How a Progressive Government Would End the War in Ukraine

"The Democratic Socialists of America condemns Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and demands immediate diplomacy and de-escalation to resolve this crisis. We stand in solidarity with the working classes of Ukraine and Russia who will undoubtedly bear the brunt of this war, and with antiwar protestors in both countries and around the world who are calling for a diplomatic resolution.

… We urge an immediate ceasefire and the total withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine. 

DSA reaffirms our call for the US to withdraw from NATO and to end the imperialist expansionism that set the stage for this conflict. We call on antiwar activists in the US and across the world to oppose violent escalations, demand a lasting diplomatic solution, and stress the crucial need to accept any and all refugees resulting from this crisis." - DSA, Feb 2022

The war in Ukraine is a product of empire, expansionism, and the global arms industry—fueled by both Russian aggression and decades of NATO encroachment. It has been sustained not for the liberation of Ukraine, but for the financial and geopolitical interests of ruling elites in Washington, Moscow, and beyond. 

A progressive government, committed to peace, self-determination, democracy and economic justice, would reject the militarist logic that sees war as a permanent fixture of global politics. Instead, it would pursue a negotiated settlement that prioritizes the security and sovereignty of Ukraine, de-escalation with Russia, and the dismantling of the war profiteering apparatus that benefits from perpetual conflict.

1. Immediate Ceasefire and Peace Negotiations

The first priority of a progressive government would be to broker an immediate ceasefire and establish conditions for a negotiated peace. Unlike the prior U.S. approach, which sought to prolong the war for strategic advantage, or the current U.S. approach, which seeks to end the war by turning Ukraine into a resource colony for US corporations, a progressive government would take the following steps:

• Convene international peace talks led by neutral mediators—such as the United Nations, non-aligned nations, or a coalition of peace-oriented governments—to create a diplomatic framework for ending the war.
• End U.S. and NATO weapons shipments while simultaneously demanding that Russia halt all military offensives and withdraw from occupied Ukrainian territories through a verifiable phased process.
• Support an internationally supervised referendum in contested regions to determine their status based on the democratic will of the people—without coercion from either Russia, the United States, or Ukraine.
• Reject the militarization of Ukraine as a buffer state for Western interests while ensuring Ukraine’s right to security, neutrality, and self-determination.

2. A Neutral Ukraine: Breaking the Cycle of Escalation

Ukraine has been used as a battleground in a larger power struggle between Russia and the U.S.-led NATO alliance. A progressive approach would seek to end Ukraine’s role as a proxy war zone by advocating for its neutrality:

• Withdraw NATO’s expansionist policies, recognizing that NATO’s continuous eastward expansion has contributed to the escalation of tensions.
• Propose a demilitarized zone along Ukraine’s eastern border, enforced by an international coalition committed to peacekeeping, not occupation.
• Guarantee security for Ukraine through diplomatic agreements, not through military alignment with either Russia or NATO, modeled on successful neutral states like Finland before its NATO membership or Austria’s Cold War neutrality.
• Support Ukraine’s sovereignty without making it a pawn for Western capital, ensuring it is not economically exploited through privatization deals that serve corporate interests.

3. Reparations and Reconstruction Without Corporate Exploitation

A just peace requires rebuilding Ukraine—not as a debt colony for Western banks and corporations, but as a sovereign nation with the resources to recover on its own terms. A progressive government would:

• Demand that Russia provide reparations for war damages while ensuring these funds go directly toward rebuilding civilian infrastructure, not oligarchic interests.
• Cancel Ukraine’s foreign debt, which has ballooned due to war-related borrowing from the IMF and Western institutions, preventing it from achieving true economic independence.
• Oppose war profiteering by rejecting corporate-dominated "reconstruction deals" that seek to turn Ukraine into a privatized marketplace for Western capital. Instead, reconstruction should be led by publicly funded projects, worker cooperatives, and direct aid to Ukrainian communities.
• Support a cooperative-based economic model in Ukraine that prioritizes public ownership of key industries rather than neoliberal reforms that favor Western investors at the expense of Ukrainian workers.

4. Ending the War Economy: No More Arms Profiteering

One of the greatest obstacles to peace is the war industry itself. The military-industrial complex—both in Russia and in the U.S.—has every incentive to continue hostilities. A progressive government would break this cycle by:

• Shutting down the arms pipeline, preventing weapons manufacturers from dictating foreign policy.
• Banning war profiteering, imposing strict limits on corporate contracts for military and reconstruction efforts to prevent defense contractors from turning peace into another business opportunity.
• Redirecting military spending toward diplomacy, shifting resources away from defense budgets and toward global conflict prevention, economic aid, and international cooperation.
• Ending sanctions that harm civilians, lifting economic measures that disproportionately affect working people while maintaining targeted sanctions on oligarchs and those profiting from war.

5. A New Global Security Framework Based on Cooperation, Not Militarism

Ending the war in Ukraine is not just about stopping one conflict—it is about dismantling the structures that make war inevitable. A progressive foreign policy would seek to replace military alliances with diplomatic institutions that serve global peace rather than corporate and nationalist interests:

• Dismantle NATO and other military alliances, replacing them with regional security councils committed to conflict resolution rather than expansionist war planning.
• Establish a new international economic order that does not force nations into military dependency in exchange for aid or loans.
• Strengthen the United Nations, ensuring it is not dominated by great powers but instead functions as a democratic body for global peacebuilding.
• Create a global arms reduction treaty, committing the U.S., Russia, and all major military powers to a systematic reduction of weapons production and military expenditures.

The Big Picture: Peace Through Justice, Not Militarization

The war in Ukraine is not an isolated conflict—it is part of a global system of empire, militarism, and corporate dominance. A progressive government would break from this system, not by supporting the imperial interests of one side over the other, but by dismantling the conditions that perpetuate war.

This is not about appeasement. It is about justice. It is about rejecting the militarist delusion that peace can be achieved through endless weapons shipments and proxy conflicts. It is about ensuring that Ukraine and all nations can exist free from the predatory influence of war profiteers, imperial planners, and economic overlords.

The path to genuine peace is not through war. We must have the courage to reject the logic that says war is the only way.

Films For Action is a media organization based in Lawrence, Kansas, co-founded by Tim Hjersted and a few close friends in 2006.