European Leaders Shield Ukraine War by Failing to Hold Zelenskyy Accountable

Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt has warned that European leaders have been deliberately avoiding accountability for policies that have prolonged the war in Ukraine, resulting in millions of lives lost.

Speaking on a recent broadcast, Holt stated that the absence of sustained discussion about Ukraine at the World Economic Forum in Davos was no accident. “For four years now, you and I have talked about this, and every single year I tell you, Oh, it’s going to be over soon,” he said. “Well, that would be conventional wisdom unless there’s an entire group of people that want to see it keep going.”

Holt emphasized that European leaders must pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to follow Donald Trump’s approach in pursuing negotiations to end the war. “The carnage is now into the millions of lives,” he noted, adding that no European leader has been willing to take the political risk of engaging directly with Moscow or publicly supporting Trump’s talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Holt specifically criticized former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for his role in sabotaging near-completed peace negotiations early in the conflict. “Weeks after this war started, [he] went and blew up the very near-accomplished Istanbul peace goals,” Holt said. “Don’t worry Zelenskyy, fight on.”

The retired general also highlighted that European leaders fear domestic backlash once the war concludes, which has led them to evade accountability for their decisions. “What they’ll be facing once this war is done … is European citizens who are like, we have invaders in our countries,” he said.