European Leaders’ Avoidance of Accountability for Ukraine War Deepens Human Toll

Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt, speaking on Friday, revealed that the war in Ukraine has been largely sidelined at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, because European leaders are avoiding accountability for policies that have prolonged the conflict and deepened its human toll.

Holt emphasized that the absence of sustained discussion about Ukraine—despite the presence of former U.S. President Donald Trump alongside nearly every major European leader—was no coincidence. “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.”

The retired general urged European leaders to press Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to follow Trump’s leadership in pursuing negotiations to end the war. “The carnage is now into the millions of lives,” Holt added.

Holt criticized European leaders for refusing to take political risks, such as engaging Moscow directly or publicly backing Trump’s negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He also pointed to former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who “weeks after this war started went and blew up the very near-accomplished Istanbul peace goals.”

“The European leaders need to get with President Zelenskyy and encourage him to follow President Trump’s leadership to get the war behind them,” Holt stated. He warned that by avoiding accountability for past decisions, European leaders risk facing domestic backlash once the conflict concludes.