“You are a pro-war anarchists.”

Demonstration, a banner is held saying: A(anarchist A)rm ukraine STOP PUTLER

We’ve heard this so many times. So many times we’ve had to explain that the war is a horrible tragedy for everyone living in Ukraine, and more than anything we want to achieve peace. Sustainable and fair peace. But here’s the key reason that prevents that: the Russian Federation, which continues to capture Ukrainian territories and wipe entire cities off the face of the earth. And today, the whole world can witness that.

Submitted by Solidarity Col… on March 19, 2025

We’ve heard this so many times. So many times we’ve had to explain that the war is a horrible tragedy for everyone living in Ukraine, and more than anything we want to achieve peace. Sustainable and fair peace. But here’s the key reason that prevents that: the Russian Federation, which continues to capture Ukrainian territories and wipe entire cities off the face of the earth. And today, the whole world can witness that.

The ceasefire conditions can hardly be called fair (20% of Ukrainian lands remain under occupation, about 16,000 prisoners of war are in Russian prisons, and postwar recovery will cost Ukraine 0.5 to 1 trillion euros). Despite this, Ukraine declares its readiness for a temporary ceasefire as the first step towards a long-term peace agreement. Russia, in contrast, demonstrates unwillingness to participate in this process. Shortly, we will hear a lot of declarations about how much Russia wants peace, but… And the “but” will be followed by a thousand reasons why even a temporary ceasefire is impossible, and why Russian troops must continue to advance in Ukraine.

We would like to see all these “anti-war left” who have spent so much time criticizing the supply of weapons to Ukraine “for the sake of peace” to finally notice the other side of the conflict. The actual culprit of why this war even began and has been going on for three years: is the authoritarian Russian regime. And, at the very least, to see them stop blaming the victim and criticizing weapons supplies. See them realize that capturing lands costs the lives of not only people in the military but also civilians because for civilians the war does not end when occupation begins.

We are closely watching the global political events, but we know that the real resistance to the aggressor is done by the people of Ukraine and international volunteer soldiers, including our comrades. It is their extraordinary effort that allows politicians in high offices to argue among themselves, make peace, and discuss conditions. So let’s continue to support our fighters and never forget whose side everyone who strives for real peace, not capitulation to empires, should be on today.

Comments

Submitted by Comrade Motopu on March 20, 2025

nastyned wrote: This shit should be deleted.

I've been glad to see Solidarity Collectives' reports here and I hope they won't be deleted.

goff

1 day 9 hours ago

Submitted by goff on March 20, 2025

Taking no war but the class war to exciting new frontiers.

adri

1 day 8 hours ago

Submitted by adri on March 20, 2025

See them realize that capturing lands costs the lives of not only people in the military but also civilians because for civilians the war does not end when occupation begins.

Just Ukrainian propaganda, nothing more nothing less. See virtually any serious academic/scholar on Eastern Europe (i.e. not people like Taras Kuzio, who is a Ukrainian patriot first and a second-rate scholar) about, for example, Crimeans' views on the annexation and about being so-called "liberated" by the post-Maidan regime. They'll tell you that Crimea's mostly ethnic Russian population (which was the case before the annexation and is not merely the result of demographic manipulation) sympathize more with Russia than they do with the Russophobic and discriminatory post-Maidan government. I already have some sources ready:

Here’s Mark Steinberg in his mostly bourgeois history of Russia (i.e. A History of Russia, 9th ed.), co-authored with the late Nicholas Riasanovsky:

Steinberg wrote: The accession of Crimea into the Russia Federation in March 2014 was viewed by most Western powers as the annexation of the sovereign territory of Ukraine in flagrant violation of international law and led to years of diplomatic and economic sanctions against Russia and deepening isolation. For Putin’s government and most of the Russian-speaking majority in Crimea, even after the role of Russian troops (initially disguised) was acknowledged, this was a just and proper act. (618)

Here are the scholars John O'Loughlin and Gerard Toal in their lengthy article dealing specifically with Crimeans' views on the annexation, in which the authors conclude by writing:

O'Loughlin and Toal wrote: Crimea has experienced considerable transformation and turmoil since the annexation (de Stefano 2017). At present, however, there is no indication that a majority of current residents of the peninsula question or regret the annexation. It is viewed as a closed subject. Researchers would do well to acknowledge this as an essentially contested issue in international affairs rather than a subject that immediately requires recitation of a standard litany of plots and offences by the opposing sides. The foundations for contemporary and future peaceful conflict resolution can only be built by acknowledging that irrespective of the controversial means by which Crimea became part of Russia, the majority of its residents appear happy about this fact and want it to stay there. Russia’s annexation of Crimea may not have widespread legitimacy but at this point in time it has it where it counts, within Russia and within Crimea. (18-19)

(Incidentally and somewhat predictably, there is also widespread support for the Russian annexation of Crimea within Russia.)

And lastly here’s Richard Sakwa's rather informative Frontline Ukraine (his newer book, The Lost Peace, probably contains more up-to-date information):

Sakwa wrote: Anti-Maidan sentiment was strongest in Crimea, leading to its incorporation into Russia, which will be discussed in the next chapter, as well as in the putative ‘Novorossiya’ in the Donbas, which will also be discussed later. (93)

Sakwa wrote: According to the referendum commission, 83 per cent of Crimea’s eligible voters cast their ballot (1,274,096), of whom 96.7 per cent backed reunification with Russia (1,233,002). Thus, 82 per cent of the total Crimean population apparently voted in favour. There were no independent Western observers, and thus the vote inevitably attracted widespread criticism. […] Nevertheless, it is reasonable to assume that even in perfect conditions a majority in Crimea would have voted for union with Russia, and in Sevastopol the vote would have been overwhelming. (104-105)

Comrade Motopu

23 hours 10 min ago

Submitted by Comrade Motopu on March 20, 2025

Despite Adri's continuing attempts to justify Putin's invasions, occupations, annexations, and to paint a picture of happy loving Russophile pro-conquerer sentiment among the vanquished, I still find Solidarity Collectives' contributions here to be important.

As for the idea that just chanting "no war but the class war" establishes an internationalist socialist, anarchist, or anything elsist position on Ukraine it isn't persuasive, especially when anti-militarist positions on Ukraine line up so well with AFD, Le Pen, and tankie groups like ANSWER and Code Pink. Anarchists and other Ukrainians don't need to pass some weird purist test as to whether their modern military aid comes from a revolutionary source, of which there are none.

For more substantive rebuttal to adri's pro-Russian nationalist line I did address some of his claims in the comments here: https://libcom.org/article/are-you-my-martyr

I don't pretend to be an expert but I know reductionist cherry picking arguments when I see them, and the idea that Crimea had a love fest over being annexed by Russia is repugnant.

adri

22 hours 41 min ago

Submitted by adri on March 20, 2025

Motopu wrote: [...] to justify Putin's invasions, occupations, annexations, and to paint a picture of happy loving Russophile pro-conquerer sentiment among the vanquished, I still find Solidarity Collectives' contributions here to be important.

Yawn, nobody is "justifying Putin's invasion, occupation, annexation," etc. etc. What's wrong with you?

Motopu wrote: For more substantive rebuttal to adri's pro-Russian nationalist line I did address some of his claims in the comments here: https://libcom.org/article/are-you-my-martyr

There's nothing "pro-Russian nationalist" about it. I'm literally quoting bourgeois academics like Steinberg (whose book is used in introductory courses) and Western media sources like NBC News when I note how Crimea's ethnic Russian majority doesn't desire any form of "liberation" from the post-Maidan government.

Motopu wrote: For more substantive rebuttal to adri's pro-Russian nationalist line I did address some of his claims in the comments here: https://libcom.org/article/are-you-my-martyr

You didn't "rebut" anything.

Motopu wrote: I don't pretend to be an expert but I know reductionist cherry picking arguments when I see them, and the idea that Crimea had a love fest over being annexed by Russia is repugnant.

That's right, "not an expert"—as in you haven't actually done any serious reading on Russian or Ukrainian history, haven't read anything about the 2014 Maidan coup or bothered investigating why there is hostility towards the post-Maidan government in the southern and eastern regions of Ukraine. Nobody is also trying to portray Crimeans as having a "love fest" over the overthrow of Yanukovych (which was illegal/undemocratic, by the way, since you seem to be so concerned with such things) and the subsequent annexation of Crimea. I'm only pointing out what other non-propagandist scholars have noted, which is that a substantial number of Crimea's ethnic Russian population (particularly in places like Sevastopol) sympathize more with Russia than with the post-Maidan government. It's also sort of funny how there has been an outpouring of mindless liberal support for Zelensky, just because the orange buffoon was mean to him, when the majority of them probably couldn't even locate Crimea on a map.

Comrade Motopu

21 hours 13 min ago

Submitted by Comrade Motopu on March 20, 2025

I have studied Russian history at the graduate level and was a reader/grader for two Russian history classes. I also supplied many sources in our last exchange, which is where, after reading and considering your arguments, I found them to be rehashed Putin talking points for the most part. I doubt anyone is reading this but if they are I again refer them back to our exchange here: https://libcom.org/article/are-you-my-martyr

I understand people with deep ideological blinders and sectarian lines about politics think they are the only ones who can really know history, and I get that it doesn't really pay to spend hours and months debating them in forums so I'm going to go do other things.

Suffice to say gunpoint referendums and public opinion polls under occupation are not the whole story of a complex situation like Crimea or the so called Donbas "Republics." You have not at all made a case against the Maidan Revolution or that the occupied areas of Ukraine got what they really wanted.

adri

20 hours 57 min ago

Submitted by adri on March 20, 2025

Motopu wrote: Suffice to say gunpoint referendums and public opinion polls under occupation are not the whole story of a complex situation like Crimea or the so called Donbas "Republics." You have not at all made a case against the Maidan Revolution or that the occupied areas of Ukraine got what they really wanted.

How about you engage with any of my sources, or maybe present your own, instead of droning on about how anyone who criticizes the post-Maidan government is a Russian apologist? You're really going to argue that the overwhelming support for Russia in places like Sevastopol and the rest of Crimea is merely the result of "everyone being held hostage" (just like how Kuzio argues incidentally)? Are there no genuine grievances among Ukrainians in the southern and eastern regions of Ukraine, along with Crimea, towards the discriminatory, fascistic, and Russophobic policies of the post-Maidan government? This is all just Russian propaganda according to you?

Submitted by goff on March 21, 2025

Comrade Motopu wrote:

As for the idea that just chanting "no war but the class war" establishes an internationalist socialist, anarchist, or anything elsist position on Ukraine it isn't persuasive, especially when anti-militarist positions on Ukraine line up so well with AFD, Le Pen, and tankie groups like ANSWER and Code Pink. Anarchists and other Ukrainians don't need to pass some weird purist test as to whether their modern military aid comes from a revolutionary source, of which there are none.

That’s convinced me. No war but the class war (but also other wars)!