The position of Italian pacifist and nonviolent movements regarding the resolution of the tragic Russo-Ukrainian war – ignored or accused of poor objectivity, ideological squint, and of typical abstraction of ‘beautiful souls’  – is weighed down by prejudices and obvious clichés on a reality which political forces and the media know very little.
The priority is to halt a war that has been going on for more than three years, but a peace hypothesis, to be disarmed and disarming, just and lasting, should be shared and accepted by the Ukrainian people, who are suffering the heavy effects of this bloody war.
This is why the Movimento Internazionale della Riconciliazione – the Italian branch of the historic International Fellowship Of Reconciliation – considers it appropriate to reiterate its position, inspired by its nature as a nonviolent organization of spiritual origin, in the following five points.
1.The need to overcome war conflicts with a view to unarmed and nonviolent defense, condemning the armed aggression of a sovereign territory and reaffirming the right to defense and resistance –hopefully civil – by the invaded population.
2.It is clear that Ukraine’s reckless prospect of joining not only the European Union but also NATO has sparked an aggressive reaction from a Russia suffering from encirclement syndrome and increasingly tempted by imperial nostalgia and autocratic temptations.
3.He harshly criticized NATO and the leaders of the countries that led Ukraine to raise the tone of the conflict with Russia and which, after its armed invasion, irresponsibly continued to support it with macroscopic political and military support.
4.Recognition of the legitimate right of the Ukrainian people to defend themselves from Russian aggression, resisting the overwhelming invading army even and above all in civil form and with the strategies of nonviolent action.
5.A clear criticism of the warmongering and militaristic position of President Zhelensky’s government and its harsh repression of fellow citizens who object to the war, refuse forced recruitment, or are defectors.

The demands of the Italian and international peace movement have therefore always been inspired by these principles:
(a) cessation of armed conflict and recourse to negotiations entrusted to diplomatic channels, but above all to supranational authorities such as the UN;
(b) open moral, legal and material support for Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian objectors and deserters, to defend the internationally enshrined right to object even in times of war;
(c) solidarity with the Ukrainian population, which has been hit hard in its civilian component, also taking action with forms of refugee reception, humanitarian support and mediation;
(d) criticism of the UE’s plans for rearmament and military support, but also of the fake mediation by President Trump’s US Administration, culminating in an unsustainable peace plan;
(e) criticism also of the NATO’s seemingly more secluded position, which conversely for decades has been promoting a dangerous expansion of its military influence in northeastern Europe.

Therefore, MIR Italia, hopefully with other national branches federated in IFOR:
 it continues to fight against the atrocities of every war, in the name of his inspiration as a disarmist and nonviolent organization, but also of an ecopacifist sensibility that leads him to also emphasize the very serious consequences for the territorial and ecological integrity of the concerned countries, which severely upset their socio-environmental balance.

 It continues to join the campaigns of support for Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian objectors, claiming their right to say no to war under all circumstances but also supporting all forms of unarmed and nonviolent resistance to external aggression and internal authoritarian impositions.

 It uses its campaign to promote in Italy a formal prior declaration of conscientious objection to the possible restoration of a compulsory military service, to raise awareness of the urgency of establishing a civilian component of defense in Italy,

 Reiterates that any hypothesis of a ‘peace plan’ will have to be founded on a truly third-party authority to the contenders and be inspired by the principles of effective mediation between the parties, repair of the damage and the realization of balanced and constructive solutions, to ensure a process of effective and lasting reconciliation .