Statement by the Revolutionary Communist International Tendency (RCIT), jointly issued by its Sections in Ukraine and Russia as well as the International Bureau, 18 August 2025, www.thecommunists.net

1.           The Trump-Putin summit in Alaska was a truly imperialist meeting. Two robber powers, each with a long history of aggression and occupation of smaller countries, discussed and basically agreed about the carve-up of Ukraine. While no formal accord has been announced, Trump said in an interview with Fox News after the summit, that he and Putin had discussed and "largely agreed" on the principles of a “peace treaty”.

2.           Basically, Washington and Moscow concur with the following:

* Kyiv should not only accept Russian occupation of its territories in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson – it should also hand over large swathe of land (6,600 square km of Donbas) which Moscow has failed to conquer since the beginning of the war 3,5 years ago. This would be a devastating blow to Ukraine because Donbas is the industrial heart of the country. Furthermore, it would lose its belt of well-fortified "fortress cities" such as Slovyansk, Kramatorsk, Druzhkivka, and Kostyantynivka. Such a surrender would make the military defence of the rest of eastern Ukraine more difficult in the future. (Only a fool would trust Putin not to start another war in some time!)

* In “exchange”, Russia would withdraw from some tiny pockets of the Sumy and Kharkiv regions that total around 440 square km. Likewise, Putin would freeze the front lines in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia – hardly a big concession since the occupation army hasn't made any progress in those areas for some time. In addition, Putin also demands that Russian becomes an official language in Ukraine, and the rights of the Russian Orthodox Church should be fully restored.

* Trump, who had loudly threatened Russia in the last few weeks with “ultimatums” and “painful and unprecedented sanctions” if it did not agree to an immediate ceasefire, simply dropped this demand and announced happily that Putin had agreed to open negotiations about a peace treaty. Naturally, since nobody knows how long such negotiations could last, Putin can continue to wage his bloody war against the Ukrainian people – now with the blessing of the U.S.

* Putin also requested that Washington recognize Russia's sovereignty in the parts of Ukraine it would gain under a peace deal. In addition, he said that he was willing to discuss “security guarantees” for Ukraine which would involve both allies of Ukraine as well as of Russia. Furthermore, Putin would also expect the lifting of at least some of the array of sanctions on Russia. It is not clear at the moment to which degree the Trump Administration has indicated agreement to these demands.

3.           It is evident that Trump will now put maximum pressure on Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to accept these terms of surrender. He already said in the interview with Fox News: "I think we're pretty close to a deal," he said, adding: "Ukraine has to agree to it. Maybe they'll say 'no'." Asked what he would advise Zelenskiy to do, Trump said: "Gotta make a deal". "Look, Russia is a very big power, and they're not," he added. Tellingly, Steven Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s special envoy, proposed to Putin to find an “Israeli solution” for the occupied territories: “It’ll just be like Israel occupies the West Bank. (…) With a governor, with an economic situation that goes into Russia, not Ukraine. But it’ll still be Ukraine, because … Ukraine will never give up its sovereignty. But the reality is it’ll be occupied territory and the model is Palestine.” It is evident that the White House is strongly interested in pacifying the war and jointly carving up the country with the Kremlin in order to exploit Ukraine’s natural resources. The summit symbolises the essence of imperialism more than anything else with two robbers – one a confused clown, the other a man who can think and knows what he wants – meet and decide about the fate of other peoples!

4.           Naturally, public opinion in Ukraine is outraged about Trump’s betrayal. While the majority of the population would accept a ceasefire along the current front lines given the country’s military inferiority, there is nearly unanimous opposition against handing over even more territory to the invaders. Under such popular pressure, Zelenskiy has consistently refused to concede territory until now. Oleksandr Merezhko, chair of the Ukrainian parliament’s foreign affairs committee, said about the outcome of the Trump-Putin summit: “It looks like Trump has aligned with Putin and they both might be starting to force us to accept a peace treaty, which means in reality capitulation of Ukraine.” Another senior Ukrainian official said that “this is a stab in the back.” However, it is highly doubtful if Zelensky will stand up against Trump given his years-long record of pro-Western policy which links Ukraine’s fate with joining NATO and EU. As long as Ukraine’s leadership does not break with Western imperialism, it will be forced to subordinate itself to the whims of Washington and Brussels.

5.           The meaning of the Trump-Putin summit goes much beyond the Ukraine War. It shows the fundamental changes which have taken place in the world situation in the last years, and which has accelerated with the second Trump Presidency. The summit demonstrates the decline of U.S. imperialism, the former absolute hegemon, and the corresponding rise of Russian (as well as Chinese) imperialism – a development to which the RCIT has pointed since a number of years. This is reflected in Trump’s willingness to drop his previous “threats” and to make huge concessions to Putin as well as in the symbolics of the meeting with Trump applauding Putin at the red carpet, letting him speak first at the press conference, etc. It is hardly surprising that Russia’s imperialist ideologists cheer the results of the summit. Aleksandr Dugin, the well-known right-wing theorist and admirer of Tsarism with numerous connections to European fascists, commented “I didn’t expect such a good result.” And Andrey Klishas, a chauvinist senator said: “A new architecture of European and international security is on the agenda, and everyone must accept it.”

6.           Likewise, the summit also reflects the decline of European imperialism which is merely informed by Trump about the outcome of his negotiations with the Russian President. In an act of humiliation, the European state leaders have to travel to Washington in order to listen to the “wise” words of the orange man. This confirms another tendency in the world situation to which we have drawn attention for some time – the accelerating rupture of the transatlantic alliance between U.S. and European imperialism. In the historic period of capitalist decline, it is “every man for himself” for the imperialist Great Powers. Sooner or later, the European imperialists, who just have decided to invest hundreds of billions of Euros in armament, will be obligated to rupture their ties with Washington in order to pursue their own imperialist interests. However, it is unclear if they can do so already now given their weak and disunited state which might push them to lament their sorry fate and appeal to “daddy” for help for some time.

7.           The Revolutionary Communist International Tendency (RCIT) strongly condemns the imperialist policy of violating Ukraine’s right of national self-determination. Zelensky must not agree to the Trump-Putin deal! We don’t deny the necessity that Ukraine’s leadership might be forced to agree to a ceasefire, possibly even at disadvantageous conditions. However, as we stated repeatedly, it is up to the Ukrainian people – and only the Ukrainian people – to decide if they want to pursue a ceasefire or not. This is a tactical issue which, however, must be subordinated to the strategy of liberating Ukraine from foreign occupation. A ceasefire might be necessary at some point in order to gain breathing space and to prepare for a popular war at a more advantageous moment in the future.

8.           The RCIT and its comrades in Ukraine and Russia have always supported Ukraine’s war of national defence against Putin’s invasion. In spring 2022, the RCIT (co-)organised three solidarity convoys to aid the Ukrainian resistance and participated in a May Day conference in Lviv. As we support Ukraine’s national liberation struggle, we recognise the country’s right to get weapons from wherever possible, including from Western powers. As our comrades in Russia, working under the most difficult conditions of a dictatorship, rightly point out, a defeat for Putin’s army would weaken his bonapartist rule and improve the conditions for democratic and economic struggle of the masses.

9.           At the same time, we always pointed to the dual character of the war as NATO has tried to utilise the conflict for its own imperialist interests against the Russian rival. Hence, we have combined our support for Ukraine with opposition to the policy of imperialist aggression, sanctions and armament by any Great Power. Likewise, while we side with Ukraine’s military struggle, we refuse any political support for the bourgeois, pro-Western and anti-democratic Zelensky regime.

10.         We strongly reject the myth propagated by bourgeois nationalists in Ukraine that the country would be forced to subordinate to Western imperialism to resist the Russian invaders. History has shown repeatedly that oppressed peoples fighting a national liberation war can win against an imperialist power without help from another foreign imperialist. Think about the Afghan and the Iraqi people who expelled the American invaders. Or look at the heroic Palestinian people in Gaza – a tiny enclave no larger than the city of Vienna – who have defied the Zionist occupiers for nearly two years, despite experiencing one of the worst genocides of modern history!

11.         In order to successfully defend Ukraine against the Russian invaders, the country must be a) purged from oligarchs and corrupted bureaucrats and b) become independent from Western imperialists. For the nationalisation of large companies in industry, finance, transport and energy under workers’ control; cancel Ukraine’s debt; down with the reactionary Labour Law; no joining of NATO and EU, no Western military troops in Ukraine! Most importantly, the bourgeois and pro-Western Zelensky governments must be replaced by a workers government based on popular councils and militias. Such a government must prepare a popular war to expel the invaders. At the same time, we call the international workers and popular movement to support the Ukrainian people and to denounce Western governments for pressurising Kyiv to capitulate. “Popular War” and “Popular Government” – these are key slogans in the coming period!