Ukraine

What can energy ties between Germany and Russia tell us about the approach of Europe’s largest country towards Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. And how should ecosocialists approach the interrelated issues of climate, war, gas prices and international solidarity? Federico Fuentes discussed these issues with Christian Zeller.

The following two statements, "Russia out of Ukraine! No to NATO expansionism" and "Reject the war drive on China: For a foreign policy based on justice, human rights and climate action" were adopted by the Socialist Alliance national conference on January 14-15, 2023.

Howie Hawkins, a retired Teamsters union warehouse worker, former US Green Party presidential candidate and ecosocialist, discusses the formation of the Ukraine Solidarity Network (US) and the challenges of building solidarity with Ukraine while opposing US imperialism.

John Carl Baker — Ukraine aid, like the war itself, is a point of contention on the international left. Supporters see aid as essential for Ukraine’s defense against an imperialist invader. Skeptics regard it as a giveaway to the war industry at best, a fig leaf for the US empire at worst. The dilemma is that both sides have a point.

Polish left-wing party Razem (Together) International Office member Zofia Malisz speaks to Federico Fuentes about the party’s history, Polish politics and Razem’s views on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Moscow-based poet, translator, and activist Kirill Medvedev, of the Russian Socialist Movement (RSD), discusses Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine and anti-war resistance at home.

Des Derwin - The international solidarity movement with Ukraine, together with the left within Ukraine, needs to begin having a conversation about Volodymyr Zelensky.

Chris Slee - Tsarist Russia was a "relatively poor and backward state", but Lenin still considered it imperialist, because of its military power, its robbery of national minorities, and other factors.

Sam Wainwright - Russia's invasion of Ukraine has had profound consequences for world and domestic politics that we need to grapple with if we are to chart a way forward.

Richard Fidler - Historical analogies can indeed be useful in assessing the issues posed in contemporary events, provided of course that careful attention is paid to the particular circumstances and to what degree the differing situations and protagonists are comparable.

Renfrey Clarke - The war in Ukraine has presented left-wing theorists and commentators with a difficult analytical challenge. How are we to resolve this conundrum? As well as needing to answer the question of where Russia stands within the capitalist world-system we also need to decide how the right to national self-determination plays out within this context.

Grusha Gilaeva analyzes the positions of Marx and Lenin on the national question and explains why the left movement must support the anti-colonial struggle of Ukraine