Member of the Irish Labour Party ・ Participant of Social Movement (Ukraine) ・ Veteran ・ Resident of Donetsk Recently, two articles were published on Aontacht Media under the name Ilya Ulyanov that claim to represent an “eastern Ukrainian” and “left-wing” perspective:
1. The Western Left Must Come To Terms With Ukraine’s Neo-Nazi Problem
I am from Donetsk. I lived there until 2014. I was a participant in the Donetsk Euromaidan. I stood on the same square where, on 13 March 2014, Dmytro Cherniavskyi was stabbed to death. I saw pro-Russian militants beating unarmed people. After that I joined volunteer units and later served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. From 2014 to 2018 I fought in the Donbas. I had to rebuild my life from scratch on government-controlled territory. In 2022 the Russian army came again — this time with a full-scale invasion. I fought again.
Today I am a participant of Social Movement in Ukraine and a member of the Irish Labour Party. I have criticised Volodymyr Zelensky since the first months of his presidency. I have openly criticised, and continue to criticise, his government for neoliberal reforms, the weakening of labour rights, oligarchic influence, corruption and much else. My comrades in Social Movement do the same. We are not “pro-Zelensky” activists. We do not defend every decision taken in Kyiv.
Precisely for that reason I see the difference between left-wing criticism and what these articles propose with particular clarity.
What Ulyanov is doing is not simply criticism of the Ukrainian government. It is the acceptance of the core scheme of Russian state propaganda: that Ukraine has no right to its own political choice; that it must remain in the orbit of the Kremlin; that any attempt to leave Russian control is a “Western project”; and that Russian armed intervention is merely a “reaction”. In essence this logic reduces Ukrainians to a population that must silently accept a status similar to that of Belarus under Moscow’s external control. This is not analysis. It is the justification of aggression dressed up as “anti-imperialism”.
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.
Donnacha Ó Beacháin discussed the Hungary elections with Flor MacCarthy and
@shonamurray.bsky.social on Oireachtas TV. Defeating Orbán is one thing, dismantling Orbánism quite another Expectations are high and Magyar’s support base is diverse, even contradictory. Managing expectations will be key to avoiding fragmentation
Discussed Hungary elections with Flor MacCarthy and @shonamurray.bsky.social on Oireachtas TVDefeating Orbán is one thing, dismantling Orbánism quite anotherExpectations are high and Magyar’s support base is diverse, even contradictory. Managing expectations will be key to avoiding fragmentation
Kavita Krishnan examines the fall of Orbán in greater detail here :
Writing in The Hindu after Viktor Orbán’s 12 April 2026 electoral defeat, Indian Marxist-feminist Kavita Krishnan draws six lessons for an international readership and, above all, for India under Narendra Modi. She argues that illiberal democracies can be ousted at the ballot box; that obituaries for universal democracy are premature; that Ukraine won the Hungarian vote; that regime-change accusations are confessions; that Orbán’s fall is a defeat for Xi Jinping as well as Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu; and that pro-democracy forces must now discard the “West versus rest” map and consolidate their gains across borders. [AN]
Hungarian voters have swept their far-right strongman Viktor Orbán out of office, ending his 16-year run as Prime Minister and electoral autocrat. Here are six lessons the world can take from them.
Two interesting articles by Kavita Krishnan are below.
The author explains :
My article in The Hindu on what’s at stake for Ukraine and the world. I try to get all my material on Ukraine from the horse’s mouth: I just read Putin, Dugin, Vance, Mearsheimer really thoroughly – and they confirm all that I’m saying, without even bothering to disguise their intent. There can’t be more reliable and irrefutable sources. The article attached is based on reading Mearsheimer himself saying Putin’s top peace condition is a puppet regime in Kyiv, since liberal democracy in Ukraine is an “existential threat to Russia”.
Kavita Krishnan
The second article examines the recent electoral defeat of Viktor Orbán in Hungary
On 1 March 2025, the family uploaded “Puppets on a Kremlin String,” about the betrayal of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy by Donald Trump and JD Vance to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, to the tune of Coldplay’s song “Viva La Vida“. The Marshes write, “Our version takes the sense of history, the pain, the trauma, and the notion of world rule, and applies it to the most disgusting media spectacle to date – with already several to choose from – of the new US administration. Like many around the world, as well as disheartened friends in the US, we watched the undignified ambush of Zelensky’s trip to the White House with dismay and pity. It was a very unbecoming sight – just at a human level – even without all the higher stakes, deals, implications, and nightmares unfolding as another win is handed to Putin, and more pressure placed on Ukraine. Like many we are hoping for a miraculous path forward that can somehow turn Trump’s intensity into an outcome that can transform into a lasting peace – but given how misdirected the fury and energy and narrative is at the moment, it’s quite hard to see it turning out other than a quickfire US withdrawal of support. If that happens, we’re in a cowardly new world.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky is visiting Ireland on December 2 and 3 2025.
Irish Left With Ukraine stated :
We join with President Catherine Connolly in welcoming President Zelenskyy to Ireland today – Irish Left With Ukraine
This approach is shared by the leader of the Irish Labour party, Ivana Bacik :
” It will be an honour to stand with my Labour colleagues later today and welcome President Zelensky, and his wife Olena, to our national parliament.
In the face of ongoing aggression by Russia, the Ukrainian people continue to display immense bravery and resilience. We are now nearly four years into this war, a war that has shattered lives, displaced families and fundamentally changed the political landscape in Europe.The Ukrainian cause and the Ukrainian people cannot be abandoned. Labour will continue to voice our support for a free, sovereign and democratic Ukraine, taking its rightful place in the European Union. Like with Palestine, the history books will remember those who stood on the right side of history in this conflict, those who supported the Ukrainian people.”
Welcoming a leader of an oppressed invaded nation does not mean agreement with that leader’s policies. This is a no-brainer.
But some parts of the British left offer policies which pretend to be anti-imperialist, but they stink.
It reminds this writer of bad old days in the 1960’s and 1970’s when many left organisations – from the Labour party to Official Sinn Féin and the Communist party – refused to practice solidarity with comrades in the six-county part of Ireland because they disagreed with the policies of Sinn Féin and the Irish Republican Army (IRA), the main republican organisations which had a mass following.
We can not do anything about political mistakes made in the past – but we can learn from them and do better in the future. One big positive example from those days was the formation of the National H-Block-Armagh.
Readers interested. who like to burrow into useful political history, are invited to read this book review :
We take no joy criticising a young left-wing UK political figure who has often spoken up for workers’ rights and progressive causes. But these barely coherent comments from Zarah Sultana on Ukraine sum up much of what is wrong with her wing of the left: www.instagram.com/reel/DQT62ysjFKK
British Your Party MP’s Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana – Dodgy Ukraine policies on offer
First up – yes, Zelensky is no friend of Ukraine’s working class in the sense that his government pursues right-wing, neoliberal, anti-worker economic policies.
Unlike Zarah Sultana, we actually know something about this, since we are connected to Ukraine’s unions and have been actively involved in helping them fight these policies.
The headline-writers of the Irish Times did a great job summing up a Keith Duffy account of the 2025 Trump-Putin Anchorage Alaska summit.
“Nauseating charade as Putin comes out of international purgatory on Trump’s red carpet” – Eleven words sum up an Alaskan summit
Irish Times Story headline, August 16 2025
Popular opposition to a fascist-inspired attack on Ukraine is spreading, but will it be enough to prevent a disaster on the European continent? At the time of writing a Washington DC meeting pits Donald Trump against the Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, who will be accompanied by several powerful European leaders such as Macron of France and Merz of Germany.
While the big European powers back Ukraine in words, there are major doubts over their ability or willingness to back Ukraine in practice. It is clear to all observers that the Trump-Putin policy is anti-Ukraine – yet the European leaders, and President Zelensky, refuse to resist Trump.
A Financial Times editorial (August 17 2025) sums up the position well :
European leaders will be tempted to celebrate Trump’s support for European security guarantees for Ukraine as a diplomatic advance and proof of enduring transatlantic co-operation. But it will count for little if the proposed deal is tantamount to Ukraine’s capitulation.
The picture may be more clear after the Trump-Putin appeasement plan is unveiled in the White House to Zelensky and the leaders of the main European states today (August 18 2025).
An Irish Times Editorial (August 17 2025) does a service to its readers :
EMERGENCY SOCIAL MEDIA STORM August 14, 2000-2100 Central European Time
2100-2200 Ukraine * 1900-2000 UK * 1500 Brazil * 1400 US/Canada East Coast * 1100 US/Canada West Coast * 2330 India * 0300 (Friday) Japan 0400 (Friday) Eastern Australia*
TRUMP AND PUTIN: HANDS OFF UKRAINE! NO PEACE WITHOUT UKRAINE! NO PEACE AGAINST UKRAINE!
August 10, 2025
Putin and Trump want to reach an agreement at a summit meeting without the main party concerned, Ukraine, in defiance of international law and the right of peoples to self-determination.
Trump announced on Friday that he would meet his Russian counterpart in Alaska on August 15, without the Ukrainian president. The latter responded strongly and rightly: “Any decision that is made against us, any decision that is made without Ukraine, is a decision against peace.”
According to the US president, a settlement of the war will include territorial concessions.
“The Ukrainians will not give up their land to the occupiers,” Zelensky added, while Trump spoke of “exchanges of territory”.
Crimea and territories in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia oblasts that Putin has declared annexed are occupied by Russian troops in violation of international law.
Occupation is a crime, those who occupy are criminals, and those who support it are accomplices!
Trump is preparing to hand victory to the aggressor after claiming that he would issue an ultimatum to Putin.
No, the era of placing one country under the tutelage of another against its will by decision of the “great powers” is over.
Mobilisation against this imperialist banditry between Putin and Trump and in solidarity with Ukraine must be organised quickly.
French Committee of the European Network for Solidarity With Ukraine (ENSU)
European Network for Solidarity With UkraineGreta Thunberg – Occupation Is a Crime – Ukraine and PalestineIrish Left With Ukraine Demonstration, Dublin Des Derwin, ILWU Activist, DublinUrkainians Demonstrate in Dublin, June 1 2025Practical Solidarity – Aid Goes from Meath in Ireland to Ukraine
Not only in Anchorage, Alaska, but also in Munich, Bavaria, there will be protests tomorrow against the gangster conclave between Trump and Putin. Not by chance at the place where the infamous agreements between Chamberlain and Hitler were signed in 1938, while Czechoslovak Prime Minister Benes was allowed to wait in the hallway…
Thomas Weyts, Ghent, Belgium :
Protest at the American Embassy in Prague, 13th of August. The Czechs know what they are talking about
Days after his election as head of Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV calls Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Pope Leo XIV has called Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss Ukrainian children abducted by Russia and a western-backed 30-day ceasefire, in a shift from the previous pontiff who had struck a more neutral stance on Moscow’s war. Ukraine’s president said on Monday that his first conversation with the new pope, who was elected last week, was “very warm and truly substantive” and thanked him for his support.
“We deeply value his words about the need to achieve a just and lasting peace for our country and the release of prisoners,” he said. The Vatican confirmed the two men had spoken on the phone but declined to provide any further details. “I carry in my heart the sufferings of the beloved Ukrainian people,” Pope Leo said on Sunday, and called for “an authentic, just and lasting peace as soon as possible”. “May all the prisoners be freed and may the children return to their families,” he added. His explicit support for Ukraine in its years-long war against Russia’s invasion was met with appreciation from Ukrainians and especially the country’s Catholics.
(image credit: Francesco Sforza/Vatican Media Handout Via Reuters)
