Ukraine

Statement by UCU members in solidarity with Ukraine (still open for signature) UCU Ukraine solidarity organising meeting (hybrid), 5pm, 17 June The backlash against the decision of the 27-29 May congress of the Unity and College Union (UCU) to back the Stop the War Coalition (STW) line on the war in Ukraine continues to gather momentum. The motion adopted by the congress (though just 130-121) portrayed Russia’s imperialist aggression as a proxy war between Russia and the US, opposed Ukraine being provided with the weapons which it needs to defend itself, and committed the UCU to backing events...

Some sections of the left have welcomed the vote by last month’s UCU annual congress to adopt a motion which incorporated the Stop the War Coalition (STW) line on Ukraine.

The 24 May Stop the War Coalition fringe meeting at the conference of civil service union PCS was poorly attended, despite being officially promoted by the union.

The two-day incursion (22-23 May) into the Russian region of Belgorod by the Freedom for Russia Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps — military units made up of Russian citizens who are fighting for Ukraine — caused panic amongst Russian officials and was widely covered across the media. The Russian militias claim they briefly occupied up to 42sqkm of Russian territory, and had two fighters killed. While some details remain obscure the broad politics of the matter are now clear. It is inconceivable that such an operation, involving scores of Russian fighters, carried in tanks and armoured...

Michael Baker misses the point a little, I think (letters, Solidarity 673 ), when he criticises my quoting of a Ukrainian poll which asked a question of Ukrainian attitudes towards Russians. Indeed, Ukrainian attitudes towards Russians have changed, which is my point. I didn’t write the polling question, just used it as evidence to back the case. Putin’s imperialism has pushed the peoples apart. However, if our eventual goal is to see the removal of barriers between peoples — borders, suspicion, hostility and other more benign features of national differences, too — then the assertion of...

Dan Katz’s article in Solidarity 672 is a necessary corrective against blanket anti-Russian policies in Ukraine. Stoking divisions based on perceived national or ethnic lines within a country helps no-one, and socialists should argue strongly against policies and practices that attack the Russian language itself, as if it were the real enemy. However, while I understand the motivation, it is wrong to describe it as a “tragedy” that fewer Ukrainians now see Ukraine and Russia as “one people” since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. If this statistic tells us anything, it is that the...

On 23 July last year Workers’ Liberty members and Belarussian activists protested outside the Belarussian consulate in west London

Photo: Anna Hope, FAR Oxford On Thursday 11 May, Russian ambassador to the UK Andrey Kelin was invited to speak in Oxford. The event, advertised as a "Q&A", was hosted by the Oxford Russian Club, a "society" that is not affiliated with the university but uses its prestige to garner interest. A collection of pro-Ukrainian protestors demonstrated outside the venue – after having bookings at Magdalen College and a local church cancelled, the event was moved to the house of one of the society’s members. As Kelin left his car, protestors shouted “murderer” at him in Russian, and "Putin will fall’...

On 19 April, Dmitriy Petrov died in a war zone, serving Ukraine against Russia

AWL policy on the Ukraine war, agreed at AWL conference 2022, much of which remains true and is reprinted below as part of our 2023 resolution, has stood-up well over the course of the last year. The AWL opposes the Russian imperialist war against Ukraine. The Russian state is fighting to annex Ukrainian territory and subordinate Ukraine to Russian political power. At the time of our 2022 conference this assessment was certainly true and is probably still the case, despite the staggering losses of equipment and manpower Russia has suffered on the battlefield. Russia continues to expand its...