Posts Tagged ‘Russia’
New pope breaks with Francis to support Kyiv and ceasefire push
Credit where credit is due :
New pope breaks with Francis to support Kyiv and ceasefire push – Financial Times
Christopher Miller in Kyiv and Amy Kazmin in Rome
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.
Polls: Trump’s approval rates at 100 days slump – Everywhere, including Ukraine and the USA
Opinion poll numbers are very bad for the rapist-gangster US President Donald Trump. Details below come from Ukraine and Trump’s homeland, the USA.
Nearly 90% of Ukrainians do not trust Donald Trump, who is now marking his first 100 days as President of the United States.
Source :
100 Days of Trump and 90% of Ukrainians
Each year, the New Europe Center commissions an opinion poll. As part of the tradition, we ask Ukrainians how much they trust various foreign leaders.
Although Trump had not yet been inaugurated at the time of the last opinion poll, the New Europe Center still asked respondents for their opinion about him. The result was fairly optimistic — last year, nearly half (44.6%) of Ukrainians expressed trust in the new American leader.
Some might have considered this level of trust too low. However, compared to other European countries, the Ukrainian assessment was actually quite high. A few months before our opinion poll, the Pew Research Center found that only 16% of people in France trusted Trump, 30% in the UK, and the highest support came from Hungary, at 37%.
This relatively high score in Ukraine was seen as a reflection of general disappointment with the hesitant policy of Joe Biden’s administration toward supporting Ukraine, as well as hopes for peace based on the promises made by the newly elected president.
Read the rest of this entry »Welcome Galway News : Oughterard Community Calls on Government Minister Norma Foley TD to Stop the Eviction of Ukrainian Families
Oughterard Welcomes All Link :
Oughterard, Galway Welcomes All – Stop Eviction of Ukrainian Families
PRESS RELEASE:
Oughterard Community Calls on Norma Foley – TD to Stop the Eviction of Ukrainian Families
A number of Ukrainian residents from Oughterard Manor, local TDs, and a group of residents known as Oughterard Welcomes All are urging Norma Foley to intervene and prevent the pending eviction of their neighbours.
A representative of the Oughterard Manor residents said:
“We have thirteen children under 18 years old. Six attend Scoil Chuimín agus Caitríona in Oughterard, three go to St. Paul’s Secondary School, one attends Muire Doireglinne, and three are in a community college in Galway.
We were sure we would stay in Oughterard as long as possible. The kids have friends, they love their schools and teachers. We already feel like part of the community. We’re attending GRETB classes, joining local interest groups, taking part in events, and working. Many local people support us and stay in touch — they are our friends. We feel safe and comfortable here. It has been our home for more than two years.”
Read the rest of this entry »“Our task is to do everything in our power to give Ukraine the best possible starting point for securing the fairest possible peace. This means putting pressure on our governments to give more aid to Ukraine. That is our main task.” – Søren Søndergaard MP, Red-Green Alliance, Denmark
Søren Søndergaard, a Red-Green Alliance member of the Danish parliament, delivered the following speech to a March 26 and 27 Brussels Solidarity With Ukraine Conference
1) Prerequisite for a just peace – more support for Ukraine
The latest developments, with Trump’s blatant betrayal, are putting enormous pressure on Ukraine. It will be forced to make very difficult choices with enormous consequences. But as friends of Ukraine, we must continue to insist that neither Trump, nor the EU leaders, nor indeed we, should decide the path forward for Ukraine.
This choice can only be made by Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. Because they are the ones who are under attack, who are losing lives and suffering every day in the war.
Our task is to do everything in our power to give Ukraine the best possible starting point for securing the fairest possible peace. This means putting pressure on our governments to give more aid to Ukraine. That is our main task.
2) We are not giving enough = ‘rearmament of the EU’?
I have just returned from a security conference in Warsaw for representatives of the EU national parliaments and the European Parliament. Some speakers asked the following question: how is it that 500 [million] Europeans are begging 350 million Americans to stop 150 million Russians who are unable to win a war against 40 million Ukrainians?
I understand that some people are asking this question to argue in favour of a general militarisation of Europe. But the question itself contains an important point. If Putin’s Russia wins the war, it is not because Europe lacks the necessary resources. It is because of a lack of political will to support Ukraine.
Western countries have supported Ukraine sufficiently to enable it to continue the war, but not sufficiently to drive the invaders out of the occupied territories.
Instead, the war in Ukraine is now being used as an argument in favour of general rearmament throughout the EU. The European Commission’s grand plan – Rearm Europe – envisages spending 800 billion euros on strengthening military capabilities.
To sell it, the myth is being spread that the reason we have not been able to help Ukraine with the necessary military supplies is that the European arms industry is small and too weak.
Read the rest of this entry »Brussels conference lifts Ukraine solidarity to higher plane – Report by Dick Nichols, Green Left Weekly Australia
The March 26-27 Brussels Solidarity with Ukraine conference drew together about 200 activists from a score of countries, in support of the Ukrainian people’s national and social rights.
A main organizer was Dick Nichols, who wrote the comprehensive report below;
Link :
Brussels Conference Lifts Ukraine Solidarity to a Higher Plane – Dick Nichols, Green Left Weekly
The gathering was organised by the European Network for Solidarity with Ukraine (ENSU) and the Ukraine Solidarity Campaigns (USC) of England and Wales and Scotland. It was devoted to strengthening people-to-people solidarity, as the menace of Ukraine being partitioned and pillaged by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s and United States President Donald Trump’s governments looms ever larger.
The conference also took place in the context of ongoing conflict between Ukraine’s trade union, feminist, environmental, civil rights and progressive political movements and the neoliberal domestic policies of Volodymyr Zelensky’s government.
Read the rest of this entry »“Never Seen Anything Like This in New York City” – Enormous Protests Against the USA’s Far-Right Trump Régime – the World Awakes April 5 2025
Global Anti-Trump Protests Erupt, April 5 2025, Link :
Global Anti-Trump Protests Erupt – April 5 2025
Ukraine, Palestine : Occupation is a Crime
Some on-the-spot activist commentaries :
I have never seen anything like this in New York City. 5th Ave covered from 42nd St well to the 20s. Nobody prepared for this volume. Volunteers are holding the traffic on all the side streets. No police in sight. #handsoff
I promise you that not all Americans have given up on our Ukrainian brothers and sisters! Or democracy. Slava Ukraini!
London Calling :
Tanya Vyhovsky, A Vermont State Senator reports :
From inside the statehouse in Montpelier (The Capitol of Vermont) – it was good to see people waking up, now this has to be sustained, organized and intentional.
Information, Tanya Vyhovsky :
Tanya Vyhovsky, State Senator, Vermont
Tim White :
The nationwide anti-Trump protests in the USA are well underway.
Here are photos from just a small selection of varying cities. Minnesota, New York, Orlando (love the Ukraine flags) and Montpelier, a town in Vermont with only 7000 inhabitants!
Support Ukrainian Resistance – Not Monstrous Rearmament Plans – Simon Pirani, People and Nature
An important left-wing conference in solidarity with Ukraine took place in Brussels on March 26 and 27 2025. We will present a number of reports from this conference in the next few days. Here is the first item – written by Simon Pirani who publishes a People and Nature blog.
Support Ukrainian Resistance – Not Monstrous Rearmament Plans – Simon Pirani, People and Nature
By Simon Pirani. Based on a talk given at a panel, “What peace?”, at the Solidarity with Ukraine event this week in Brussels
“What peace?” is a wide question. To narrow it down, we can ask: what sort of peace is being discussed among Ukrainians?
In an interview about the Trump-Putin talks, and the prospects for any agreement, our comrade Denis Pilash, a member of Sotsialnyi Rukh, said that “Ukrainians have two things in mind when thinking about any deal: the fate of people in the occupied territories, and how to prevent Russia from restarting the war.”
These points could frame areas for agreements, he argued. He pointed to the Ukrainian government’s position that it will not recognise illegal annexations, but would accept a ceasefire followed by negotiations.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tomás Ó Flatharta 