On 27 March at 10:00, a coalition of civil society organisations, activists, and concerned citizens will gather near the Prime Minister’s Office (Avenue des Arts 27, Brussels) during the Federal Council of Ministers meeting.
Organised by the European Network in Solidarity with Ukraine and Steun Oekraïens Verzet, the demonstration calls on the Belgian government to demonstrate its full commitment to Ukraine’s victory and to reject any normalisation of relations with Russia until it is defeated and fully held accountable for its crimes.
Last week’s developments at the EU level highlight the urgency of this demand: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán blocked a €90 billion loan to Ukraine, following Belgium’s opposition to a reparation loan backed by frozen Russian assets in December 2025. This effectively puts Ukraine at risk of losing funding to defend itself and places financial pressure on the EU to cover the costs.
Recent statements by Prime Minister Bart De Wever suggesting normalisation of relations with Russia after a “peace deal,” including the resumption of economic ties, raise further concerns about transparency and genuine beliefs and intentions behind Belgium’s decisions. These remarks follow earlier statements describing Russia’s defeat as “a fairy tale” and “a complete illusion,” arguing that such a defeat “would not be desirable”.
Taken together, these positions reflect a consistent approach of limiting pressure on Russia, with no explicit statement supporting Ukraine’s victory and Russia’s defeat, a blockage of the seizure of frozen assets, and, despite years of promises, no delivery of fighter jets to Ukraine.
Russia is openly stating that this war targets the whole of Europe and is reinforcing this through daily cyberattacks, disinformation, sabotage, and economic blackmail. Normalisation without Russia’s defeat and full accountability for its aggression will not bring peace; it risks impunity and further escalation to EU and NATO member states.
“Europe has made this mistake before: after Russia attacked Chechnya, Moldova, Georgia, and Ukraine in 2014. Each time, normalization without accountability led to more violence. If Russia sees that its war pays off, it will lead to further aggression. ‘Not abandoning Ukraine’ is not enough — without Ukraine’s victory and Russia’s defeat, a lasting peace is not possible,” said Michael Desloover, co-organiser of the protest.
We call on the Belgian government to:
- Commit to a clear European strategy for Ukraine’s victory.
- Reject normalization with Russia without full accountability;
- Use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine’s defence;
- Support a Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression;
- Strengthen prosecution of war crimes and crimes against humanity;
Press contact
Olena Kuzhym – English (+32 491 93 59 58)
Michael Desloover – Dutch (+32 477 20 27 58)