Tomás Ó Flatharta

Looking at Things from the Left

Posts Tagged ‘Stalinists plus Ultra-Rightists

Support Ukrainian Resistance – Not Monstrous Rearmament Plans – Simon Pirani, People and Nature

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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.”

The photo is courtesy of a Ukrainian anarchist group that provides soldiers at the front with “all the necessary equipment that can increase their safety and efficiency in resisting the imperial onslaught of the Russians”.  

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.

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European Parliament adopts Nordic Left MEPs resolution against Russian ‘shadow fleet’ – Doing Everything We Can to Support Ukraine

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Source: Left Party (Sweden)

(November 14, 2024) In the EU election campaign, we promised to do everything we can to support Ukraine. We have now adopted (!) a resolution to stop the Russian shadow fleet.

The shadow fleet consists of poorly maintained, often uninsured ships with unclear ownership that export Russian oil and gas via the Baltic Sea, in violation of EU sanctions against Russia.

The proceeds from these exports fund the war in Ukraine. The shadow fleet threatens both the environment and the people of Ukraine.

With today’s resolution, which Hanna Gedin and Jonas Sjöstedt (pictured) skilfully succeeded in pushing through in the European Parliament, hard pressure is now being put on both the European Commission and the Member States to take the decisions needed to stop the shadow fleet.
This is a great victory for all of us who want to stop the war in Ukraine.

Further information:

Text of resolution adopted

Briefing on Russian shadow fleet

Why are Russian ‘shadow’ oil tankers still sailing the Baltic Sea?

by Li Andersson, Jussi Saramo, Jonas Sjöstedt, Merja Kyllönen, Per Clausen, Hanna Gedin, Jan van Aken, Maciej Konieczny, and Zofia Malisz

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Anti-Fascists or Conspiracy Theorists? The Truth Behind Pro-Putin Protests in Britain

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Far-rightists all over Europe (including Ireland) regularly back Putin’s Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Some on the left identify with these awful politics. Here is a case study from Britain.

We thank our friends in the Ukraine Solidarity for their article
Anti-Fascists or Conspiracy Theorists? The Truth Behind UK Protests


Nearly three years into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and a decade after the war began, a small band of so-called anti-fascists took to the streets of London and Glasgow to demand “no more British arms to Ukraine.”

We say “so-called”, because the “International Ukraine Anti-Fascist Solidarity” demo shared more in common with far-right disinformation merchants and conspiracy theorists than the left-wing workers’ movements that stand with Ukraine against Russian aggression.

The demo was advertised in the Morning Star newspaper, in an advert which demanded “Zelensky must go!”. The optics of a movement that declares itself to be anti-imperialist but calling for regime change in a sovereign state did not seem to matter. This is a group that is happy to parrot Russian disinformation while ignoring Ukrainian voices and lives.

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