Until recently many of us believed war among modern nations was a thing of the past. The idea that a stable country like Russia would invade its sovereign neighbor in 2022 seemed implausible. Watching tanks roll across a European nation, with potentially tens of thousands of civilian casualties and the destruction of scores of cities and towns is heartbreaking, and all too reminiscent of Poland, 1939.
The Peace Museum joins the chorus of global voices condemning the actions of Vladimir Putin and the Russian Federation for their unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Despite months of opportunities to use diplomatic means to settle Russia’s grievances with NATO and Ukraine, dialogue and diplomacy failed. 
Putin instead chose to create a false pretext for an invasion, leading the world down a dangerous path of escalation and preventable human suffering. The world must not turn away from this human tragedy and demand an immediate end to this brutal invasion.
We stand in solidarity with all peacebuilders everywhere, including those in Russia to quickly end this aggression and return to diplomacy. Today’s invasion must give us renewed commitment to support democracies everywhere, to offering help to the flood of refugees moving west now to safety, and support to those left behind to defend their country.
