WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 23, 2026) – The McCain Institute at Arizona State University (ASU) today issued a statement from Executive Director Dr. Evelyn Farkas on the four-year mark of Russia’s full-scale war on Ukraine:
“Today we stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine as they enter their fifth year resisting Russia’s brutal unprovoked, imperialist invasion. Russia has already lost this war militarily, economically and diplomatically; it is a question of when the Putin regime recognizes this reality.
“The McCain Institute commends efforts by the White House to end Russia’s war of aggression, urging the administration to pursue terms that center on the fundamental rights and freedoms of Ukrainian citizens.
“All too often this past year, we have seen demands, first and foremost from Moscow, for Ukraine to give up territory in exchange for peace.
“We urge anyone joining Russia in making these demands to remember this: what they are asking Ukraine to give up is not land, but people.
“As we speak, millions of Ukrainians – more than 1 million of them children – are suffering under Russian occupation.
“We have seen harrowing and undeniable evidence of enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, sexual violence, and torture of civilians at the hands of the de facto Russian authorities in the temporarily occupied territories. Children in these territories are systematically taken from their families and illegally sent to Russian families for adoptions and to institutions that teach them to hate their own country, as well as to love – and even die on the battlefield for – the regime that invaded it.
“Nine years ago, our namesake Senator John McCain rightly deemed Vladimir Putin a ‘thug, a murderer, and a killer.’ If we force Ukraine to cede territory, we would be consigning millions of Ukrainians into his hands.
“Last week, I returned from the Munich Security Conference, during which Secretary Marco Rubio stated that the administration supports a ‘just and sustainable peace.’ The McCain Institute shares that goal. We must also stress that there would be no justice in a settlement that permanently hands over Ukrainian citizens – many of whom have been courageously resisting occupation – to Russia’s authoritarian regime. There must also be accountability for Russian crimes and Ukraine’s security must be guaranteed unequivocally and into perpetuity.
“Ukrainians want peace more than anyone, but not at any cost. They resist Russian aggression not because they want war, but because the alternative is the total annihilation of their homes, their families, and their very identity as a nation. And they know, as we know, that Putin will continue to wage war against his neighbors if he is rewarded as an outcome of the current war.
“On this most somber of days, I reiterate the five points that the McCain Institute laid out last year for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine:
- Ukraine must be given security guarantees.
- Children forcibly transferred to Russia must be returned to Ukraine.
- Russia must be held accountablefor its war crimes.
- The international community must distribute frozen Russian assets to victims of these crimes.
- Ukraine must receive a pathway to NATO membership.
“Senator McCain always stood steadfastly, both literally and figuratively, by the side of the Ukrainian people. Thirteen years ago, he joined thousands of Ukrainians who braved freezing temperatures to stand up for democracy and freedom. At the McCain Institute, we continue to maintain John McCain’s pledge to the people of Ukraine that we will help them prevail, and thereby ensure the future sovereignty and security of peoples everywhere.”