This article largely takes up elements of two blog posts published recently about
the war in Ukraine, which seemed to us particularly relevant and explanatory.These are "Farewell to life, farewell to love... Ukraine, war andself-organization" by Tristan Leoni, published on May 8, 2022, and "Peace is war"by Gilles Dauvé, released during June 2022. These two articles deal - overall -with the same subject, namely to place the conflict between Russia and Ukraine ina broader historical and political perspective, as well as to question thepossibilities of militant actions on place and in France. This is why we will mixin the following article passages from the two posts mentioned, without implyingthat they say exactly the same thing.The reasons for a warAs in 1914, war propaganda seeks justifications on the side of morality, of Goodagainst Evil, of the attacked against the aggressor, of democracy againstauthoritarianism and dictatorship. Already a hundred years ago, the game ofalliances only aimed to defend Serbia, ten times smaller than theAustro-Hungarian Empire which declared war on it, right? "But the causes of theFirst World War are no longer explained in this way. The initiator or thetriggering incident of a conflict is only one element of a much more complexoverall situation (1). Indeed, "the aggressor/aggressed distinction indicates theplace where a conflict breaks out, not its cause or its logic (2).»In the case of the war in Ukraine, far from being the decision of just one man,Putin, who would be mad (or sick according to the commentators), the passage tothe invasion stage is explained by a context of inter-imperialist and(geo)political capitalist competition fraught with tensions, radicalized since2014 (3):"- the rivalry between the United States and Russia over Europe's energy supply; the increase in recent years in the deployment of NATO troops in the region(Baltic countries, Poland and Romania);the increase in Western arms deliveries to Ukraine in 2021 and therefore the risein power of the Ukrainian army, which, in the future (but when?), could be strongenough to reconquer the secessionist territories of the Donbass or, at least, toeffectively oppose a new Russian intervention; the evolution and failure of negotiations on the status of Ukraine (neutrality?demilitarization? NATO membership?) and Donbass (autonomy? independence?)including in the weeks preceding the offensive; the statements of Joe Biden, who, while the United States denounces theimminence of the Russian invasion, announces that he has "no intention ofdeploying American or NATO forces in Ukraine" ( January 25, 2022) - which, indiplomacy, can be interpreted as a "good for agreement";European countries that appear weak, divided, and too dependent on Russia toimpose new economic sanctions on it;elements which escape us today - certain experts evoke a possible reversal ofRussia around February 21-23; a window of opportunity that seems to be closing (1).»Especially since for Gilles Dauvé, the inferiority of the Russian economy (andbefore it Soviet) compared to that of the USA compels it more to resort to directarmed force on its neighbors to establish the domination of its ruling class:"Unfit to compete on the world market and to invest abroad (as China succeeds indoing so), the only guarantee of continuity for the Russian ruling class is thepriority of military power (2). What might seem inconceivable is ultimately onlyan option on the table in the game of imperialisms. Ukraine is today of verystrategic geopolitical interest, because the extension of the Western bloc to theborders of Russia has removed the protection it enjoyed, "behind neighboringsatellites serving as a buffer between two separate but never watertight blocks:this margin hardly exists anymore (2).»The rationality of warThe only judge of the rationality of the outbreak of a war and the modalities inwhich it will take place are the ruling classes of the belligerents. Even if itmeans sacrificing millions of people during the conflict: "During theSino-Japanese war, in 1938, the nationalist government had the worthies of theYellow River destroyed to delay the advance of the Japanese troops: objectiveachieved, and the flood killed 500,000 Chinese. Probably the greatest war crimein all of history, with the distinction of having been inflicted by an army onits own population. The day when a government, whatever it is, considers itreasonable to kill 500 million people to save a billion, it will do so (2).»The rationality of imperialist war is assessed in terms of the possible gains inrelation to the costs incurred. And Russia does not want to come backempty-handed. Moreover, it is necessary to consider the "difference betweenpolitical aims and military objectives, which must be broader than the first toallow to seize places which will serve as currency of exchange during futurenegotiations ( 1). Despite this, the Kremlin's initial goals, certainly a quickwar with a seizure of power in kyiv, have not been realized. And the new strategyof annexation of eastern Ukraine would make it possible to fulfill part of theobjectives, and to place Russia in a position of strength at the negotiatingtable. Nevertheless, in the event of a radicalization of these confrontationswith a strong Ukrainian resistance in the Donbass, the risk of escalation exists,especially since the American allies do not seem willing to put an end to theconflict. Unfortunately, "if a future use of atomic weapons is not certain, itwould be naive to exclude it on the grounds that it would have catastrophiceffects for humanity, but also for the masters of the world, attached to theirposition and their privileges (2).» attached to their position and theirprivileges (2).» attached to their position and their privileges (2).»Perspectives on the spot: self-organization?It is not a question of judging, from our sofa, what people do in a situationwhere their neighborhood is razed by tanks, especially since our positions haveabsolutely no consequences on the spot... can serve an internationalist principlewhen your village is under fire from a Russian tank? How far must Ukrainianworkers go to simply defend themselves against military aggression? To those whowere in the Warsaw ghetto, in Srebrenica or at the time of an attack by Daesh,was it possible to say not to take up arms because they might be provided to themby nationalists, or that their resistance is aligned with the interests of one ofthe major imperialist powers? asked a participant in a discussion organized byAngry Workers on March 12, 2022, to which he replied: "I don't think it'spossible (2) (4). On the other hand, the speeches produced here and there, thereferences mobilized and the injunctions to action concern us, and this is whatit will be about, because precisely, we have the chance to "benefit from arelatively comfortable setting in which to reflect calmly on current events. Wewould be wrong not to abuse it, because this framework will perhaps disappearmore quickly than we think (1).» We would be wrong not to abuse it, because thisframework will perhaps disappear more quickly than we think (1).» We would bewrong not to abuse it, because this framework will perhaps disappear more quicklythan we think (1).»A mural depicting a virgin carrying a Javelin, an anti-tank missile launcher, inkyiv in May 2022. The javelin, supplied in large numbers by NATO, has become asymbol of Ukrainian resistance, especially on social networksThere has been a lot of discussion in radical circles about the self-organizedmilitias, of anarchist obedience, forming a regiment within the Ukrainianterritorial defense, with, according to them, a certain degree of autonomy("which, we will have understood, signifies a certain degree of subordination(1)"). This form of self-organization is ultimately not independent of theUkrainian state, which gives orders, supplies arms, benefits from training andintelligence from the United States. And, ultimately, faced with the scale andreconfiguration of the conflict, these groups can only slip away behind whatincreasingly resembles a "classic" war ("that of the clash between vast, heavilyequipped units, at the within which coordination, movement, fortifications,artillery duels and the flow of ammunition and fuel become central (1)") and lessand less to the urban guerrilla warfare that one could imagine at the end ofFebruary and the beginning of March. In the face of "real" war, the only rolethat could be attributed to territorial defense "is above all to relieve thebest-trained soldiers of the most thankless and time-consuming tasks: guardingthe rear (warehouses, bridges, etc.), patrol cities, impose curfew and fightagainst looting (1).» watch the back (warehouses, bridges, etc.), patrol thecities, impose the curfew and fight against looting (1).» watch the back(warehouses, bridges, etc.), patrol the cities, impose the curfew and fightagainst looting (1).»Thus, the autonomy of both the population and the anarchist groups is quiterelative: "There is no Ukrainian people fighting alongside the state withoutbeing dominated or framed by it. On this subject, the reference to the war inSpain is particularly unfortunate: in the summer of 36, those of the anarchistswho accepted the maintenance of a bourgeois government under the pretext that itdid not have the real power, which would have been in the hands of the popularmasses waging the anti-Franco war through their autonomous organizations, werecruelly denied less than a year later. May 37 showed who held power: the Republicrepressed the most radical, brought the workers' militias to heel, definitivelytransformed the insurrectionary movement into a frontline war, winning the gameagainst the proletarians before losing it against Franco (2).»What binds those involved in the conflict here is both the stabilization of theUkrainian state, which has not collapsed despite the conditions of war, and theconsolidation of the Ukrainian nation, which had never really been done before.In France, or in Ukraine, there are those who are satisfied with and glorify thisnationalism; "but if they then hope for a profound social transformation, it isdoubtful that national unity will be favorable to them: "the people" bringingtogether all Ukrainians, all classes combined (only excluding, if necessary,collaborators of the enemy) , the post-war period will not go against theinterests of the owners (2). Waging war is still waging war on one's bourgeoisie,and the money invested in it will not go elsewhere (hospitals, schools). Incontrast, in the event of an end to the conflict with the partition of Ukrainefor the benefit of Russia, a plan for the reconstruction of the "western" partand the economic development associated with it, would complete the Ukrainiannation-state, a historical process that allows "to bring together often verydiverse components by language, origin or religion, thanks to the possibility ofa self-centered capitalist development on a controlled territory, militarily butalso fiscally (2). Not sure that the Ukrainian proletarians come out winners. ahistorical process which makes it possible to "bring together often very diversecomponents by language, origin or religion, thanks to the possibility of aself-centered capitalist development on a controlled territory, militarily butalso fiscally (2). Not sure that the Ukrainian proletarians come out winners. ahistorical process which makes it possible to "bring together often very diversecomponents by language, origin or religion, thanks to the possibility of aself-centered capitalist development on a controlled territory, militarily butalso fiscally (2). Not sure that the Ukrainian proletarians come out winners.Act here?Faced with the absence of an autonomous force to support on the spot, we arerelatively powerless to act here. It seems, however, that "the more gloomy thetimes, the stronger the injunction to act: it would be a question of beingeffective, of 'having an impact' on reality when the revolutionary movementperhaps does not have any. to be never had so little... (1)", a little in thesame way as at the time of confinement or "social return". Some support thecomrades of the militias on the spot, but this often requires "minimizing themilitary nature of the question". Thereby, the risk is great to idealize theUkrainian fighter, as it could be done for that (or that) of Rojava. The greaterthe distance, the easier it is to see emancipation and resistance.The questions we ask ourselves today about the role of comrades in Ukraine arevery likely to come before us in the more or less near future, even if"everything is done to persuade us that contemporary states are yielding toviolence military for reasons external to the deep nature of a capitalist systemsupposed to promote peace. In the 21st century, if Russia goes to war, the causewould be the return of a nationalism fortunately outdated in the West but revivedin the East by a dictatorial power with excessive ambitions (2).»Admittedly, the war never really disappeared in Europe, but, "contrary to thefate of Bosnia in the past, the Ukrainian issue is crucial, because it touchesthe heart of a Europe where one of the main industrial centers is located ,financial and commercial world. It is crucial as it sees some of the major powerson the planet clash, including nuclear powers, that it mobilizes considerablemechanical and human forces - if there is a return, it is that of the war of highintensity - and that it is already having enormous economic repercussions (1).»"A process that has already been sensitive for several years is suddenlyaccelerating (1). Military budgets, already growing before the war in Ukraine,exploded almost everywhere (5), especially in Europe, where we are witnessing theremilitarization of Germany. The world economy is continuing its mad race, andwar is once again becoming one of its methods of exercise for us. At thegeopolitical level, "the blocks are formed, formalized. The risk would be thatthe war in Ukraine, despite its share of horrors, is only a skirmish heraldingconflicts of another magnitude, in the short or medium term (1).»To end on an absolutely not optimistic note, we can easily say that everything isready for everything to get worse: "we ignore the fault lines and thedelimitation of the "camps" engaged in future conflicts. But we know that therivalries between the great capitalist powers - the now dominant United States,China, resurgent Russia, the European Union hitherto incapable of forming apolitical entity - are accumulating the conditions for regional wars and one dayworld wars (2 ).»DIY articles by zygaena, June 2022Notes(1) Goodbye life, goodbye love... Ukraine, war and self-organization, TristanLeoni, published on May 8, 2022 on the ddt21.noblogs.org blog(2) Peace is war, Gilles Dauvé, June 2022 on the website troploin.fr(3) Ukraine Russia: the reasons for the conflict, published in Courant Alternatifn°321, June 2022(4) Gilles Dauvé specifies: "By the way, it is abusive to compare the Ukrainiansforced to find ways to protect themselves against invasion, and the insurgents ofthe Warsaw ghetto in 1943. With their backs to the wall, almost without externalsupport and doomed to certain death, the Jews of the ghetto preferred to perish,arms in hand. The Ukrainians of 2022 fortunately have more than one option.»(5) See the campaign in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region "War is made near you!»,by Obsarm and NINA-Lyon, contact: nina-lyon@riseup.net and in Courant Alternatifn°320, May 2022http://oclibertaire.lautre.net/spip.php?article3263_________________________________________A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C EBy, For, and About AnarchistsSend news reports to A-infos-en mailing listA-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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