WASHINGTON DC — European leaders must act decisively to avoid being viewed as “indifferent or apathetic” by Washington and Moscow in the high-stakes negotiations over the war in Ukraine, a retired American military officer warned in an interview with Kyiv Post on Sunday.

The stark caution from Col. Richard Williams (Ret.), a veteran with extensive experience in NATO leadership, came as a group of seven European leaders, including the heads of state for France, the UK, Germany and others, delivered their own peace proposals to the United States.

The move is a clear attempt to influence the agenda of the upcoming meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, set for Aug. 15 in Alaska.

Dangers of an ‘unjust’ peace

Colonel Williams, in an interview with Kyiv Post, was particularly critical of the notion that a deal could be reached by redrawing borders, a possibility that Trump has floated.

Such a deal, he said, would be nothing more than a “bloody Russian land grab to produce an unjust temporary ceasefire.”

He accused the US president of pursuing a deal for the sole purpose of receiving “the Nobel Peace Prize for nothing.”

The veteran officer’s comments echo a broad sense of apprehension across Europe that a peace agreement orchestrated by the American and Russian leaders could come at Ukraine’s expense.

“Will Trump’s and Putin’s ‘business as usual’ power-diplomacy ever pull out the rabbit of justice to surprise Zelensky and turn around three years of brutal criminal killing?” he asked.

He also posed a pointed question to European leaders: “Will Europe and NATO again let the self-declared big boys carve up a major portion of Europe before their downcast eyes?”

He added that across “the world and a span of 80 years have shown us what Hiroshima and Nagasaki are beginning to think – praying for peace was never enough!”

The veteran officer urged for a more engaged and proactive role for the European “Coalition of the Willing,” noting that “nothing less will be perceived by Moscow and Washington as European indifference or apathy.”

Europe’s coordinated response

In their joint statement, the European leaders seemed to be answering that question with a resounding no.

The signatories, including French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, made their red lines clear. While they welcomed Trump’s diplomatic efforts, they insisted that any solution must “protect Ukraine’s and Europe’s vital security interests.”

Crucially, the leaders affirmed that “the path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine,” and that “international borders must not be changed by force.”

The statement declared that the current line of contact should be the “starting point of negotiations” and committed the nations to maintaining “substantive military and financial support to Ukraine.”

The joint statement, which also included Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, signaled a unified European front determined to be an active participant in, rather than a passive observer of, any peace process.