CHICAGO — Dec. 7, 2025 — Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is not a standalone conflict but the outward expression of a deeper imperial governance model that threatens international stability, participants concluded Sunday at an international conference in Chicago, held as Western governments debate the scale and duration of military support for Ukraine entering 2026.
The conference, titled “The End of Empire,” brought together political figures, academics and civil-society representatives from Canada, the United States and Europe, alongside representatives of national movements from within the Russian Federation, including Chechen, Buryat, Bashkir, Circassian and Oirat-Kalmyk organizations. Discussions centred on how Moscow’s centralized and authoritarian political structure has fuelled internal repression while driving external aggression.
Opening the conference, Oleh Medunytsya, president of the Anti-Imperial Bloc of Nations (ABN), argued that the invasion of Ukraine has exposed the long-term consequences of a system rooted in coercion and the denial of political self-determination. Speakers said the war has made visible the link between repression inside Russia and instability beyond its borders.
Among the featured speakers was Aset Sabb, deputy minister of foreign affairs of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, along with representatives of several other national movements. Panelists described how minority regions within Russia have borne disproportionate human and economic costs during the war, often without meaningful political representation or consent.
Walter Zarycky, a Ukrainian community leader and U.S.-based academic who coordinates American Friends of the ABN and has long analyzed Eastern European affairs, said the conflict has forced Western governments to confront questions they have long deferred. European security, he argued, cannot be separated from the internal political structure of the Russian state, warning that cycles of repression and militarization have repeatedly produced external conflict.
Participants concluded that these internal dynamics undermine international law and increase the risk of prolonged instability across Europe and Eurasia.
At the conclusion of the conference, participants consolidated their discussions into a joint resolution outlining shared conclusions. According to the resolution adopted at the conference, durable peace in Europe and Eurasia is incompatible with imperial domination or forced assimilation and depends on respect for sovereignty and the consent of governed peoples.
The resolution reaffirmed the principle of self-determination under international law and expressed support for Ukraine’s right to defend itself against Russia’s full-scale invasion, including sustained military assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which remain central to Ukraine’s defence against Russia’s full-scale invasion and the protection of its sovereignty and internationally recognized territory.
Participants called on the United States, Canada, the European Union and other democratic allies to sustain political, military, humanitarian and economic support for Ukraine, maintain and enforce sanctions against Russia, prevent sanctions evasion and support accountability mechanisms for war crimes and other serious violations of international law.
The resolution further stated that peoples within the Russian Federation should be able to determine their political future through peaceful and democratic means, including autonomy, consensual federal arrangements or independence where freely chosen. Democratic governments were urged to engage with representatives of such movements through diplomatic, academic and civil-society channels and to incorporate decolonization and indigenous-rights considerations into long-term policy planning toward Russia.
Participants emphasized that the outcome of the war in Ukraine will have lasting implications for European and transatlantic security, shaping whether imperial aggression is deterred or normalized in future crises.
In addition to panel discussions, conference attendees viewed an exhibition titled “Putin’s Real Prisoners: Political Prisoners of Enslaved Nations,” documenting cases of political repression inside Russia, as well as a documentary highlighting ABN human-rights initiatives.
Organizers said the Chicago conference was intended to contribute to the international debate over how the war in Ukraine could reshape Europe’s security architecture and the political trajectory of the Russian state, while reinforcing support for and coordination among captive nations within the Russian Federation.
