After the fall of the USSR in 1991, Ukraine became independent. The United States
promised Russia that NATO would not expand eastwards, but it didn't take long forUncle Sam to renege. Without a global rival to consider, and concerned to find anew mission for NATO after the end of the Cold War, successive US Presidentsagreed to requests from most countries in Eastern Europe to join. As eachindividual new member sought security in NATO, the threat of NATO to Russiaincreased. In a world of competing States, security for one is bought at theexpense of insecurity for its neighbours. ---- Independent Ukraine was a countrysplit culturally and politically into two halves. Western Ukraine spoke Ukrainianand looked to build economic relations with the European Union, especially withGermany. Eastern Ukraine spoke Russian and looked to preserve its industrialintegration with Russia. Corrupt oligarchs from the two factions alternated inpower, while the working class was politically marginalised. In 2014, a protestmovement against the Russian-leaning Viktor Yanukovych grew into the MaidanUprising. Politically diverse at the beginning, it shifted to the Right afterFascists physically beat the Left into dropping their banners and ceasingpropaganda. By late February, Yanuykovych's party had deserted him and he fled.Pro-West corrupt oligarchs took charge.Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, didn't take kindly to the defeat of hisclient and, the next month, sent the Russian army to occupy Crimea. A shamplebiscite ratified its accession to Russia, though it is probable that a genuineplebiscite would have achieved the same result, albeit with a smaller majority.In April, unrest started in the Donbas, covering the two most eastern Ukrainianprovinces. Though the leaders there may have been politically independent at thebeginning, it didn't take long before Russian soldiers and Russian guns turnedthem into puppets. A messy, low-level civil war started up, before largelypetering out a year or so later.In 2019, Volodymyr Zelenskyy was elected President on an anti-corruptionplatform. Though Russian-speaking and Jewish, he nevertheless pursued apro-Western course, aimed at joining both the EU and NATO. By 2022, Putin hadlost patience and ordered the Russian army to invade. The Ukrainian army, bettermotivated and better organised, fought the invasion to a standstill and laterrecaptured significant ground. A Ukrainian offensive started a few weeks ago. Itis making progress, but very slowly against a Russian military that is heavilydug in. A revolt by the leader of the Wagner group, a company of mercenaries,recently exposed deep divisions within the Russian ruling class and weakenedPutin's position, perhaps seriously.No War But the Class WarAnarchists don't support the nation State or its military. We therefore opposethe provision of money, weapons or personnel to the military forces of any State.Here in Australia, we have a special responsibility to oppose the Australianmilitary.Instead of supporting national militaries, we advocate fighting the classstruggle, a position which does not change purely because one State invadesanother. We oppose war production. We encourage desertion, draft resistance,selective sabotage and diversion of war materiel to the revolutionary movement.An exception to opposing the war effort is that we do not oppose specificmeasures to protect cities from aerial attack from planes, drones and such like.An exception to draft resistance is that revolutionaries may submit toconscription in order to engage in anti-war activity within the military.At the front, Anarchists encourage fraternisation and the refusal of offensiveoperations. In occupied territory, Anarchists should fight for leadership of theresistance. And finally, we maintain our position even if it leads to the defeatof the military forces of the State in which we live. If some other State invadesAustralia, we are prepared to see the State conquered and to conduct resistanceagainst the occupier rather than contribute to the victory of the Australian State.First and foremost, the Melbourne Anarchist Communist Group opposes the Russianinvasion of Ukraine. We oppose NATO and call for its dissolution, but the desireof the Ukrainian Government to join it doesn't justify what Putin is dishonestlycalling a "special military operation". The invasion, though, doesn't change ourclass struggle position. In fact, we've seen the ruling class in both Russia andUkraine escalate the class war on the working class. Russia has increasedrepression of mass anti-war movements while Ukraine has passed anti-worker andanti-Union laws. Given the ruling class are escalating their attacks, the workingclass must respond.In Russia, Anarchists have largely taken a correct anti-war position (thoughtheir strategies are another matter). The politics of this are relativelyuncomplicated. The Anarchist task is to build the class struggle and buildanti-militarist resistance.In Ukrainian territory under control of the Ukrainian State, the Anarchist taskis, in principle, a mirror image of that in Russia, though conducted in moreadverse circumstances. The Anarchist movement in Ukraine has largely abandonedthe class position and engaged in various degrees of collaboration, even to theextent in some cases of volunteering for the army. We understand the pressuresthey are under, but that doesn't change the results of their actions. Anarchistsneed to boost the class struggle, defending civil rights and working class livingstandards, while maintaining hostility to the Ukrainian State. If and when astronger working class movement is built, more concrete anti-militarist positionscan be pursued.In both countries, Anarchists should adopt a special position against aerialattacks on cities as direct attacks on the working class. When the UkrainianGovernment, for its own reasons, defends against Russian bombs and drones, it isincidentally defending the working class, so Anarchists should allow theseoperations. We note that in May, Ukraine launched an aerial attack on Moscow,also an attack on the working class.In occupied Ukrainian territory, there will be a desire for resistance. Further,in the event that the military effort of the Ukrainian State collapses and Russiaconquers the country, the resistance would spread across all of Ukraine and theRussian occupation would quickly become impossible to maintain. Putin's invasionhas unified Ukrainian national feeling against Russia, even to the extent of manyin the east starting to learn Ukrainian. It is the task of Anarchists to buildthe resistance and fight for leadership of it. This will have to be done, notonly against Russian opposition, but also against Banderaites and supporters ofthe open Nazis of the Azov Battalion.Resistance in occupied Ukrainian territory should be conducted as far as possiblewith class struggle methods of strikes, demonstrations and selective sabotage.The occupation cannot be expected to respond to this non-violently, so theresistance will be compelled to take up arms in self-defence. It is thisresistance that should be the destination of arms diverted from the military byrevolutionaries in either country. There is a vital difference between theAnarchist militias we envisage and the Ukrainian army. For the Ukrainian State,the struggle is a military one for the control of territory and populations. ForAnarchists, the struggle is essentially political, one conducted arms in hand forself-defence. The primary goal is to fraternise with the enlisted ranks of theRussian army and turn Putin's tools into his enemies. Shedding blood, evenRussian blood, is to be done only when necessary. A resistance that gained areputation for killing only Russian officers and for releasing prisoners fromenlisted ranks would be very bad for Russian morale.Call to ActionThe Melbourne Anarchist Communist Group urges Anarchists around the world toadopt this principled position. We do not seek to identify a lesser evil tosupport in this war, but to redouble our efforts to make a workers' revolution toend it. We especially urge Anarchists in Ukraine, many of whom may becollaborating unhappily with the official war effort, to find a way back to theclass struggle approach. It's the only way out.NO WAR BUT THE CLASS WARhttps://melbacg.wordpress.com/2023/07/12/the-ukraine-war/_________________________________________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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