Archive for the ‘Britain’ Category
Spotlight on Ukraine: Eighteen Claims That Circulate, and What the Evidence Shows
We wish to thank a good friend and comrade, Duncan Chapel, for writing the document which follows.
Link :
Spotlight on lies about Ukraine – 18 Claims that circulate and what the evidence shows
Readers are invited to join the discussion – the myths which are demolished here have circulated in all parts of the globe – some are specific to Ireland -which we have highlighted in previous blog articles on this site – see references at the end of this article.
The policy of Irish Left With Ukraine (ILWU) is highlighted by the slogan
Ukraine, Palestine, Occupation Is A Crime
TL;DR: Part 9 of the ‘With Washington and Moscow’ series. Not an analytical piece: a tool for conversations that happen at short notice in group chats, meetings, and pub debates. Each entry is self-contained. Where the evidence is genuinely contested, it is described as such. Seventeen claims are answered. The 2014 coup claim has to explain why the coup produced an OSCE-observed election in which Svoboda fell from 10.45 to 1.16 per cent. The civil war claim runs into Igor Girkin, the FSB colonel who seized Sloviansk and later said he pulled the trigger of this war, a hostile witness the Kremlin has since jailed. The “not one inch eastward” pledge was real and verbal, and Russia then signed the 1997 Founding Act accepting that every state chooses its own security arrangements. The Johnson-at-Istanbul story rests on one Arakhamia sentence while omitting the next one, and on a visit that came ten days after the talks ended. The proxy claim collapses against Kursk, the refinery strikes and the Chevron tankers. Also covered: language law, Minsk, the UN Nazism resolution, Russia’s imperialist character, the polling shift to 69 per cent for negotiations alongside 80 per cent refusing territorial concessions, and Baltic and Georgian agency in NATO accession.
Many of these claims circulate simultaneously through Russian state media and MAGA-aligned outlets — a convergence examined in Part 10 of this series. This document addresses the factual substance regardless of the source.
1. ‘The CIA staged a coup in 2014 and installed a far-right government in Ukraine’
A coup is the sudden, illegal seizure of power. If the CIA staged a coup, the people who came to power should surely be its agents or tools. Ukraine held a presidential election on 25 May 2014, observed by the OSCE. A mainstream liberal-conservative, Petro Poroshenko, won 54.7% of the vote in the first round. The far right was routed electorally: Svoboda’s vote was decimated, from 10.45% in the 2012 parliamentary elections to 1.16%. Dmytro Yarosh of Right Sector received 0.7%. A coup, then, that produced a democratic election — and a democratic election that the far right lost by a factor of ten.
Read the rest of this entry »The Irish trade union movement and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions have been unequivocal in our support for Ukraine since the brutal Russian invasion in February 2022 -Gregor Kerr
Trade Union Solidarity with Ukraine in Ireland
Gregor Kerr reports on the ICTU Global Solidarity School, Wexford, August 20 2026
On Thursday 20th August 2026, Irish Left With Ukraine hosted a session at the Irish Congress of Trade Unions Global Solidarity Summer School entitled ‘Practical Solidarity – what should Irish trade unionists be doing to support our Ukrainian colleagues?’
The session was introduced by Gregor Kerr, Irish Left With Ukraine who thanked the organisers of the Summer School for facilitating the discussion. He asked delegates to “…put yourself in the shoes of Ukrainian workers and trade unionists – people who in the last months of 2021 and the early months of 2022 were grappling with exactly the same sort of struggles we face on a day to day basis – struggles with individual employers about wage rates and terms and conditions, struggles with the broader neo-liberal government agenda on issues of access to public health, housing, education etc etc.?” When their lives were turned upside down by the horrors of the invasion, he asked “How do any of us know how we would respond in such a situation? Our pre-ordained political theory might suddenly not fit the reality of the brutality of what is happening.”
Our challenge, he said, is to listen to the voice of Ukrainian trade unionists and leftists and ask them “What’s your experience? What do you want us to do? How can we show our solidarity with you?” By listening, we realise the importance of arguing for “…the right of Ukrainian people to resist the invasion by whatever means they feel necessary, for their right to get the weapons they need to mount that resistance from whatever source they can whether we like that source or not – which can obviously be a sticking point for many. But sticking point or not …. Our job is not to say what we think Ukrainians should say or do. Our job is to listen, to provide a platform, to amplify their voices.”
Gregor argued that “…there is a huge difference between saying We should remain militarily neutral and should not join any military bloc, should have nothing to do with NATO and also being able to say at the same time that in any instance of conflict we are on the side of the oppressed against the oppressor…..we must defend Solidarity as well as Neutrality – We stand with the Palestinians in their struggle against the oppression of apartheid Israel, We stand with the people of Ukraine in their struggle against the oppression of the invading Russian forces.”
He praised the Irish trade union movement for being unequivocal in our support for Ukraine since the invasion in February 2022, through motions passed, statements issued and practical fundraising and solidarity donations. “…the importance of all pledges and concrete actions of solidarity cannot be over-stated,” he concluded. “And, indeed, the importance of providing a space and a platform for the amplification of the voices of Ukrainian trade unionists and workers is possibly the singular most important thing any of us can do in terms of supporting Ukrainian resistance to the invasion of their country by Putin’s imperialist forces.”
The Irish trade union movement and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions have been unequivocal in our support for Ukraine since the brutal Russian invasion in February 2022.
In March 2022, ICTU organised a well-attended demonstration outside the Russian embassy to mark the one-month anniversary of the invasion.
The 2023 Biennial Delegate Conference passed a comprehensive motion proposed by the Dublin Council of Trade Unions which, among other things, condemned the invasion, called for an immediate withdrawal of Russian forces, sent solidarity to the trade union movement and workers of Ukraine and to all peace, anti-war, trade union and workers activists in the Russian Federation and condemned imperialist war, expansion and aggression anywhere in the world from any big power or their clients, or from any military alliance.
In February of this year, in a statement to mark the fourth anniversary of the invasion ICTU reaffirmed its support for the Ukrainian people in their fight for sovereignty and self-determination and stated
“Trade unions have always stood proudly against imperialism. As the war in Ukraine enters its fifth year, that commitment remains as strong as ever. We stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people, with their trade unions, and with all those who resist imperialist and authoritarian regimes. A just and lasting peace, one based on respect for Ukrainian sovereignty, is what they deserve, and it is what we will continue to advocate for.”
Over the past 4 and a half years, ICTU and many unions have run fundraising efforts and moneys raised have gone to the Irish Red Cross and to the International Trade Union Confederation fund to support Ukrainian unions.
Read the rest of this entry »“We Only Want the Earth” – Important Trade Union backed James Connolly Documentary on RTÉ 1 TV, Wednesday August 26 2026 – Why did this revolutionary marxist sign the Famous Easter 1916 Proclamation, helping to lead “A social revolution by force of arms”?
A James Connolly Documentary will be broadcast on the Irish State’s main TV broadcast station, Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ 1) on
Wednesday August 26 2026, RTÉ 1, 21.30
Yellow Asylum Films Announcement :
WE ONLY WANT THE EARTH
The Life & Ideas of James Connolly
We are delighted to announce the upcoming screening on RTÉ of the feature documentary on James
Connolly, created to inspire and enlighten a contemporary audience about Connolly, his life and his
ideas. It will screen on RTÉ 1 on Wednesday August 26th at 21.30.
An iconic presence on the landscape of Irish socialism and republicanism, the name of James Connolly looms
large in the trade union movement and wherever radical left-wing politics are espoused. The film tries to place
Connolly’s radical ideas and many political achievements against the landscape of the contemporary world as
well as documenting his more prominent role in the 1916 Easter Rising.
As well as many distinguished commentators, union activists and historians, the film also features many songs
and poems – spoken and sung by contemporary artists such as Christy Moore, Stephen Rea, piper David
Power, singers Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin and Esosa Ighodaro as well as Connolly’s great great grand-daughter
Tamsin Iona Connolly Heron. Acclaimed actor Terry O’Neill performs the words of Connolly.
The film aims to reclaim Connolly’s story as well as invoking his important social vision – with a clear eye on
how it resonates in our contemporary time – an era when even democracy itself appears under threat.
The film was independently produced and financed with the support of the Irish Trade Union
movement.
Director & Writer: Alan Gilsenan
Producer & Archive Researcher: Martin Mahon
Executive Producers: Des Geraghty & Noírín Greene
A Yellow Asylum Films Production for the James Connolly Foundation for Educational Equality
The documentary is recommended to all readers interested in the life and times of James Connolly, a revolutionary marxist activist who became a leader of the growing Irish trade union movement in the early 20th century, and who promoted a distinct socialist and anti-imperialist vision. Connolly was one of the seven signatories of the Easter 1916 Rising in Dublin’s General Post Office (GPO). The British state executed this hero of the Irish working class on May 12 1916.
Ever since, James Connolly has captured a place in the Irish public imagination more than any other figure in the workers’ and socialist movement. No Irish socialist is really taken seriously unless s/he claims to be following in his tradition.
This was the position in 1972, as desbribed in the pages of a weekly political publication, Hibernia :
No fewer than 23…..communist, socialist and left-wing groups exist in Ireland, according to a list appearing in the 23 June 1972 issue of Hibernia. These organisations represent various trends in national and international politics but all, without exception, laid claim to James Connolly as their model and inspiration.
This position is essentially unchanged in 2026.
Yet at the time of his execution Connolly was isolated in the leadership of the Irish workers’ movement and internationally. He is reported as saying in his death-cell “The socialists will not understand why I am here. They forget I am an Irishman”.
Louise Bryant – A contemporary revolutionary socialist and feminist who understood why James Connolly was in Dublin’s GPO at Easter 1916
There were significant exceptions. We begin with a contemporary assessment written by Louise Bryant :
Read the rest of this entry »Keir Starmer Forced to Resign from British Prime Minister Job – Ode to Joy captures mood of popular masses
Keir Starmer sheds tears for himself after turning his Labour party into electoral wreckage :
Bluesky correspondent speaks for the many :
Starmer has all but destroyed what was left of Labour, told the members if they didn’t like what he was doing “there’s the door”, oversaw huge erosion of civil liberties, support for a genocide, massive authoritarian overreach and an economy that’s limping toward death. Good fucking riddance.
Audrey Yawn, Bluesky correspondent
Can the cause of socialist renewal recover from a Starmer blitzkrieg in Britain? :
Read the rest of this entry »Judge Rules : Lady Eleanor Donaldson “Unfit to Face A Criminal Trial” – Sexual Offences Charges
The long-delayed trial of former Democratic Unionist party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and his wife Lady Eleanor Donaldson is due to start on the week beginning May 25 2026. An unusual development has occurred.
A May 20 2026 RTÉ News Report states :
A judge has ruled that the wife of former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson is unfit to face a criminal trial on sexual offences charges due to the state of her mental health.
Eleanor Donaldson, aged 60, will now face what is called a “trial of facts” rather than a normal trial.
That means a jury cannot find her guilty but will be asked to determine whether she committed the offences she is charged with.
Jeffrey Donaldson, 63, will face a normal criminal trial on 18 charges which he denies.
The former DUP leader has pleaded not guilty to one count of rape, four counts of gross indecency and 13 charges of indecent assault.
Ms Donaldson has pleaded not guilty to five charges including aiding and abetting her husband.
The 23 charges relate to offences allegedly committed against two plaintiffs between 1985 and 2008.
Their trial is scheduled to begin next week.
Judge Paul Ramsey ruled that Ms Donaldson is unfit to face a normal criminal trial after hearing evidence from a consultant forensic psychiatrist and reading reports from two doctors.
Dr Christine Kennedy told the court that Ms Donaldson was found to be “severely depressed”, suicidal and suffering with “high levels of anxiety”.
She said that on the balance of probabilities Ms Donaldson would not be able to instruct her legal team, could not follow the trial proceedings and would not be able to give evidence.
The judge heard legal submissions about whether the trial of facts will be heard simultaneously with Jeffrey Donaldson’s trial or run as separate proceedings at a different time.
He will issue a judgement on that issue tomorrow.
Read the rest of this entry »
Trade Union Solidarity With Ukraine in Ireland – Activity of the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) – by Sandra Corrigan, Global Development Officer (INTO)
Irish Left With Ukraine (ILWU) held a very fruitful meeting on Tuesday 24 March 2026 in the Teachers Club (which is associated with the INTO)
Sandra Corrigan, Global Solidarity Officer of the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation, described international solidarity work for teachers and children, including a solidarity fund, emergency supplies, trauma support, and advocacy that helped secure teacher salary increases for 2025–2026. Ukrainian teacher union reports emphasised the prolonged conflict and an education crisis.
Kateryna Maliuta- Osaulova of the Trade Union of Education and Science Workers TUEWSU Ukraine, worked with Sandra on this report.
Sandra’s extensive report is available here :
These issues will also be addressed at the next ILWU public meeting on April 21 2026 at 7.30pm in the Teachers’ Club 36 Parnell Square West.
Details are here :
Public Meeting
Why we need solidarity with Ukraine
Speakers:
Mick Antoniw (Labour party Member of the Senedd [Welsh Assembly]; co-founder of the Ukraine Solidarity Campaign, England & Wales)
Anatoliy Primakov (Ukrainian Action Ireland)
Sinéad Gibney TD (Social Democrats)
Kevin Donoghue (Campaigns Officer, FÓRSA trade union)
Chairperson :
Nóirín Greene, ex-member of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) Executive
Time: 7:30pm
Date: Tuesday 21st April 2026
Place: Teachers Club 36 Parnell Square, Dublin 1 D01 T6V6
To participate via zoom link, please email: irishleftwithukraine@gmail.com
by 19th April
Why we need solidarity with Ukraine – Public Meeting, Teachers Club Parnell Square, Dublin 1 D01T6V6, Tuesday April 212026, 7.30pm
Public Meeting
Why we need solidarity with Ukraine
Speakers:
Mick Antoniw (Labour party Member of the Senedd [Welsh Assembly]; co-founder of the Ukraine Solidarity Campaign, England & Wales)
Anatoliy Primakov (Ukrainian Action Ireland)
Sinéad Gibney TD (Social Democrats)
Kevin Donoghoe (Campaigns Officer, FÓRSA trade union)
Chairperson :
Nóirín Greene, ex-member of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) Executive
Time: 7:30pm
Date: Tuesday 21st April 2026
Place: Teachers Club 36 Parnell Square, Dublin 1 D01 T6V6
To participate via zoom link, please email: irishleftwithukraine@gmail.com by 19th April
Half a million people in London protested against racism and extreme right – Saturday March 28 2026 – report on the Eastern European Bloc
The European Network for Solidarity with Ukraine reports :
On Saturday 28 March, half a million people in London protested against racism and extreme right, in the UK mainly represented by Reform UK, a party that is also close to Putin and Trump, and against support for Ukraine.
A nice block of Ukrainian, Eastern European and British solidarity protesters also participated at the manifestation, with our friends from the Ukraine Solidarity Campaign Vsesvit, Hromada Collective,Campaign for Ukraine, POMOC and the Polish left-wing party Razem.
Link :
https://ukrainesolidaritycampaign.org/
“Stormont’s institutionalised sectarianism is beginning to look disturbingly permanent”
The Irish News columnist Patrick Murphy tells many home-truths about the Good Friday Agreement and the Stormont Assembly in Belfast.
This occurs in tandem with declining support for partition within the six-county bit of Ireland. A detonator of this trend was Brexit – the British state’s 2016 right-wing exit from the European Union.
Anti-Partition supporters of the Good Friday Agreement hope its referendum provisions will be enacted – forcing an electoral end on Ireland’s partition. These people need to address an ugly truth : an Irish unity referendum within the 6 county state can only happen with the permission of the British Secretary of State for “Northern Ireland” – an office currently held by Labour MP Hillary Benn.
Benn has categorically stated he will not authorise such a referendum. Credible opinion polls suggest that by the time of the next British general election (which must occur by 2029) the Westminster government could be controlled by the far-right ultra-Unionist Reform party led by Nigel Farage.
The best progressive way to end the partition of Ireland today can start with smashing Stormont. End institutionalised sectarianism and class collaboration – No coalition with right-wing parties such as the Democratic Unionist Party.
The way forward is :
1.Call for the formation of citizens’ assemblies which will draw up a political programme for the creation of a new 32 county Irish state
2. If the Irish state refuses to call a Citizens’ Assembly – something like the body which preceded the 2018 referendum in the 26 county bity of Ireland which repealed the anti-abortion 8th Amendment – the workers’ movement, women’s movement, trade unions, left-wing parties, and so on should take the initiative.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tomás Ó Flatharta 
