Call for the support of Ukraine

We publish this letter from M. sent via Martin Arnold ψ о. Мартин.

Responses may be made in the comments section below or emailed to tincur@riseup.net to be forwarded to M.

————-
Ian Curr
Workers BushTelegraph  and 4PR – Voice of the People
E. iancurr@bigpond.com

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Call for the support of Ukraine (July 2023 by M.)

Dear friends,

I am writing to you because I feel we should be taking a principled position on the issue of the Ukraine War.

I know we are faced with many problems of which anthropogenic global warming is the most serious today and in the future.

But here I am addressing this specific question which has confronted and divided the Left . You will find attached A Call for the support of Ukraine and against the world wide spread of authoritarianism and neo-fascism.

I support this call despite it’s minimal address of US global hegemony with its imperialist programme of the new International order. Its deliberate approach is to focus on the actual conditions and reasons why the invasion occurred.

First let me say that the Putin administration has promoted deliberate misinformation about Ukraine and the aggressiveness of NATO to threaten Russia. It seems to have justified the invasion by calling it A Special Military Operation to de-nazify and demilitarise Ukraine. That in itself tells much on the Putin view that it can attack another country because of its politics. But this categorisation is of course an absolute lie. But it has been taken up by many comrades and even journalists like John Pilger who continues to say Ukraine is infested with fascists. At that time [in early 2022] reference was made to the Azov battalion (of some 500 fighters) as proof that the government was run by fascists. Yet in the Ukraine elections of 2018/19 not only did Zelenskyy win overwhelmingly but so did his parliamentary Party. The far right parties garnered some 2% to 3% of the vote and one member of parliament. This vote for the Far Right was much less than in any other European country.

But of course this did not deter Russia from its description of the political colour of Ukraine. It’s interesting to note that the Far Right in Russia is far larger both in numbers and as a percentage. And in the Russian military we only need to look at the Wagner Group (of the death head symbol) or the several other mercenary groups to see the reality.

It is clear that the Putin regime has used its capacity for far-reaching disinformation to provide an image of a nation fighting fascism and the aggressive NATO military establishment.

We are now aware of the many Putin statements since the invasion and that his main argument is not only the colour of the Ukraine political establishment but that in fact Ukraine has no right to be a separate entity/nation. That it properly is part of greater Russia. His reference to historical Russia and Peter the Great (ignoring Ivan The Terrible ) and to a specific world philosophical view is interesting. His tirades against Bolshevism and communism are rooted in the philosophy of Ivan Ilyin. And who is Ilyin ?

He is a historical figure who openly promoted Russian fascism and was a supporter of Mussolini . He was the philosopher and propagandist for the White Russians and claimed the Bolsheviks were Jews intent on undermining the purity of the Russian race. He saw Innocent Russia surrounded by permanent hostility. He was denounced in the Soviet Union.

But in 2005 Putin began the rehabilitation of Ivan Ilyin and had his ideas disseminated throughout the government. In January 2014 all of Russia’s high ranking bureaucrats and regional governors were sent a copy of Ilyin’s “ Our Tasks “. After Russian troops occupied Crimea and the Russian parliament voted for annexation, Putin cited him again as justification for his actions.

Why am I focussing on Ilyin ? Because it’s his fascist pronouncements which underpin the reasoning of the Putin government’s invasion and its revanchism. It is very particular to Russia but its history yet has in common to with all fascist states the notion of superiority (and with that a deep racism) and legitimate claim to extra territory (through invasions ). Thus we have ideology and territory conquest ! Once this is understood then we can comprehend the Putin view of the world and the specific nature of Russia’s regional imperial drive.

So do not be taken in by the argument that NATO is aggressively threatening Russia. A couple of matters to contemplate.

First, all of these east European nations including ultra right autocratic states like Hungary and Poland in the opposite corner, approached NATO and asked to join. None of them want to be part of the Russian umbrella. That says something.
And as to a forceful US and NATO we only need to see the very timid response in supplying advanced arms to Ukraine (they did not want to provoke Russia). It has only been after 12 months that Ukraine is finally receiving more serious armaments.

Many on the Left are very concerned with the death and destruction wrought upon Ukraine and look at many ways to bring the war to an end. This is understandable. But I say this in reply :
It is up to Ukraine to make that decision. The Russian promotion that Ukraine is a mere puppet of the USA and the war is one between Russia and the US via the proxy of Ukraine, has been taken up by many on the Left who quite rightly identify the threat of US imperialism but are unable to see the threats of other regional imperial powers. In this specific case it’s Russian imperial reach. And we should also recognise the actual independent character of Ukraine.

Ukraine cannot defend itself without sourcing arms to meet the military industrial might of Russia. And these armaments are from the West. So to demonstrate against the sending of military aid to Ukraine is in fact a disingenuous call and acting in the interest of Putin’s regime. In other words being an ideological asset of the regime.

In fact it is not up to us to make these demands which call for Ukraine to give up its territory in order to achieve peace.

This would be the peace of the graveyard.

Our responsible position should be the unconditional support of Ukraine against the invader.

I am writing to you to elicit a response. Please do so. This is a very important issue for the Left as it also looks at how to answer the growing world threat of authoritarianism and neo-fascism.

End of M’s letter.