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.
Ukraine’s Reality and the Power of International Solidarity
Kateryna Maliuta of the Ukrainian Trade Union, the TUESWU and Education International, delivered this presentation to the August 20 2026 ICTU Global Solidarity School in Wexford. It can be downloaded here.
It is packed with useful and inspiring information.
Kateryna Maliuta-Osaulova is the International Secretary of the Trade Union of Education and Science Workers of Ukraine. Born in 1984 in a small town in the central part of Ukraine, Kateryna graduated from the Institute of International Relations and Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine and has been working in trade unions since 2011, first in the Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine, and then in the Trade Union of Education and Science Workers of Ukraine.
We also add below the text of the presentation slides.
The solidarity described here needs to be repeated in the coming months.
Therefore, an International Convoy – presently planned to arrive in Ukraine in November 2026 – is currently being organised.
Details are here :
As first steps, readers are encouraged to find out more at this link – consider spreading the word – and adding individual and organizational endorsements, as appropriate.
I Was delighted to have the opportunity to speak at Irish Congress of Trade Unions Global Solidarity Summer School on behalf of Irish Left With Ukraine, alongside Chris Ford of Ukraine Solidarity Campaign and Kateryna Maliuta-Osaulova of the Trade Union of Education and Science Workers of Ukraine, on the topic of why Irish trade unionists should show solidarity with our Ukrainian colleagues and how we can do so.- Gregor Kerr
Gregor’s speech is below.
Gregor Kerr speaking, ICTU Global Solidarity School, White’s Hotel, Wexford August 20 2026Gregor Kerr intriduces online speakers – Christppher Ford Ukraine Solidarity Campaign (Britain); Kateryna Maliuta-Osaulova of the Trade Union of Education and Science Workers of Ukraine,; ICTU Global Solidarity School, White’s Hotel, Wexford August 20 2026 Solidarity doesn’t stop at home.
A strong INTO delegation has been at ICTU’s Global solidarity conference this week. Our delegation discussed Ukraine, Cuba, post-election Colombia and its earthquake recovery as well as ways to support and campaign for Palestine. – INTO
I’d like to start by thanking David Joyce and the Global Solidarity Committee and conference organisers for including this session on the Summer School schedule. In this session, I’m going to invite you 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.?
But, suddenly, their lives were turned upside down by a brutal invasion of their country. They found themselves facing the sort of horrors we really can’t envisage and they found themselves grappling with how to respond.
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.
So the challenge for each of us as Irish trade unionists and as Irish left political activists is to be able to step outside our political theory and to listen to the voices of Ukrainian trade unionists, feminists, LGBTQ+ activists, socialists, anarchists.. to listen to their reality, to respond to their requests, to empathise with the horrific situation in which they find themselves…
A number of leading figures within the League of Ireland, as well as a former Ireland manager and women’s captain, have signed an open letter calling on the FAI to refuse to play Israel in the UEFA Nations League later this year.
A campaign by Irish Sport for Palestine, titled “Stop the Game” has been launched, with an open letter backed by high-profile figures in Irish soccer.
Professional Footballers’ Association of Ireland chair and Shamrock Rovers captain Roberto Lopes – who is set to play in this summer’s World Cup for Cape Verde – urged the FAI to reverse its stance.
“We have to stop the game. As players and fans, our natural instinct is always to get out there and compete, but this is a moment where we need to look at the bigger picture. We can’t ignore the humanitarian catastrophe in Palestine; the sheer loss of life there has to take precedence over any sporting consideration. Ireland has an opportunity here to lead—to be a pioneer and do what others won’t. We need to be brave enough to say enough is enough. We can’t just stand by. Please, stop the game,” Lopes wrote.
Former men’s national team manager Brian Kerr and 2019 FAI women’s player of the year Louise Quinn are among those from inside the sport that added their names to the campaign.
Christy Moore, Fontaines DC and Kneecap are also among the 38 signatories.
The open letter addressed to the FAI called on them “to refuse to participate in the two scheduled UEFA nations league games against Israel.”
With “the clear and ongoing serious breaches of UEFA & FIFA statute regarding Israeli teams playing on occupied Palestinian lands”, adding “as a member of UEFA you have a duty to upload [sic] these rules if UEFA will not”.
The letter also highlights the landslide vote of FAI members last year, where 93% voted to instruct the organisation to call for Israel’s suspension to UEFA.
The FAI confirmed it would be fulfilling the fixtures, stressing that “serious consequences” would result from forfeiting the games, which would “materially harm the long-term sporting interests of Irish football”.
The governing body said at the time they had consulted with the government and An Garda Síochána and were satisfied that the home tie could be staged in Dublin.
“I don’t see a difference between Fifa and Uefa banning Russia and not Israel,” – Irish Manager Heimir Hallgrímsson
Heimir Hallgrímsson wants Israel thrown out of UEFA and FIFA competitions ; “Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson believes Fifa and Uefa should remove Israel from their competitions in the same way that they banned Russia.
Both Fifa and Uefa banned all Russian clubs and international teams on February 28th 2022, four days after the invasion of Ukraine.
“I don’t see a difference between Fifa and Uefa banning Russia and not Israel,” said Hallgrímsson. “I don’t see the difference.
“I am not speaking on behalf of the FAI – I just don’t see the difference.”
Two Ukrainian activists, Andrii Movchan and Nina Potarska, have been arrested by the armed forces of the genocidal Israeli state.
Israeli Navy’s criminal attack on Gaza flotilla: Ukrainian team among detained crews. Release them all now!
April 30, 2026
The European Network for Solidarity with Ukraine (ENSU) has learned that the vessel carrying the Ukrainian team as part of the Sumud Global Flotilla 2026 was one of those illegally seized by the Israeli Navy early this morning.
According to an Al Jazeera report seven out of the 58 vessels were captured by Israel near Crete, over a thousand kilometres from the coast of Gaza.
ENSU coordinator Szymon Martys described the raid as “a blatant and cynical attack on unarmed vessels navigating peacefully in international waters”. He demanded the immediate release of the detained crews, which include the Ukrainian team of Nina Potarska and Andrii Movchan.
Martys said that ENSU, which is supporting the two Ukrainian peace and human rights activists, had no information as to their situation, but assumed that they, along with other crews, were being held illegally on an Israeli navy vessel.
“They must all be freed immediately”, he added, and called on the Ukrainian government, along with the governments of all the kidnapped crews, to demand their immediate release.
Martys commented that the Israeli’s government’s action–attacking the flotilla when it was far from Gaza and before public attention on its mission would be at a peak–betrayed its fear of the power of international solidarity with the Palestinian people.
“We in the Ukraine solidarity movement understand this truth”, he added. “Powerful governments, like Netanyahu’s and Putin’s, although armed to the teeth, can be brought low by the mass mobilisation of all who stand for the rights of peoples. The Sumud Global Flotilla is symbol of popular indignation at the murderous violence of war and of people’s determination to stand with the oppressed.”
The Ukrainian team had joined the Sumud Global Flotilla to help the humanitarian effort for the blockaded people of Gaza, towards whom they, as members of a nation also victim of brutal invasion, feel a special duty of solidarity.
I invite you to read my new English translation for Спільне / Commons: “Breaking the Gaza Blockade: Ukrainians on the Sumud Flotilla.”
It is a thought-provoking interview with Ukrainian activists Andrii Movchan and Nina Potarska about Gaza, Ukraine, occupation, human rights, and solidarity.
Press Statement – Government decision ‘heartless and cruel’ and must be opposed says Irish Left With Ukraine
Irish Left With Ukraine (ILWU) has condemned as “heartless and cruel” the government decision to withdraw accommodation supports for Ukrainian refugees, and has called on the trade union movement and all progressive forces to immediately launch a campaign to “reject firmly the government’s pandering to anti-immigrant sentiment.”
“In the midst of a housing crisis, the threat to throw 16,000 Ukrainians out of state-provided accommodation will mean evicting many of these people into homelessness,” said ILWU in a statement. “It will mean people being uprooted from their communities, children having to leave schools in which they are settled and have made classmates and friends, and people having to quit their jobs.
Alongside this, the decision to cut and eventually end altogether the Accommodation Recognition Payment will impact directly on a further 42,000 people who are currently accommodated in people’s homes across the country.
Two Ukrainian volunteers are participating in the 2026 Global Sumud Flotilla Mission to Gaza.
They are Nina Potarska and Andrii Movchan, and the links to the media release announcing this participation and their biographical details can be found below.
Nina Potarska and Andrii Movchan, participating in the 2026 Global Sumud Flotilla Mission to Gaza
Ukrainians join Global Sumud Flotilla Mission to Gaza
Ukrainian volunteers in the Global Sumud Flotilla Mission to Gaza say their participation is a call for humanitarian access, international accountability and solidarity against occupation
Ukrainian volunteers in the Global Sumud Flotilla Mission to Gaza say their participation is a call for humanitarian access, international accountability and solidarity against occupation, reports the European Network for Solidarity with Ukraine.
Two representatives of Ukrainian human rights activism have announced their participation in the international civilian mission to Gaza, joining volunteers from across the world in an effort to deliver humanitarian aid and challenge the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza.
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
Once again, thanks to the editor of the Cedar Lounge Blog for drawing the attention of readers to very good Éamonn Sweeney left-wing analysis to the current Dublin government, which administers the 26 county bit of Ireland.
On this blog we describe the Mícheál Martin / Simon Harris government as FFFGBG – that is : a coalition of Fianna Fáil (FF), Fine Gael (FG), and Beggar-Gombeens (BG’s). The BG’s were assembled by the North Tipperary ex-FG minister Michael Lowry, who was thoroughly investigated by the Mahon Tribunal following credible allegations of financial corruption in the 1990’s. Fine Gael’s ethical standards are extremely low, but the party was obliged to expel Mr Lowry.
Micheál Martin meeting Trump Saint Patricks Day White House 2026
The BG’s got many perks for propping up the FFFG Martin-Harris duo – the biggest was the position of Dáil Ceann Comhairle (speaker) handed to the Wexford racist, and former FG member, Verona Murphy.
Some of the BG’s might be tempted to join their racist-fascist soul-brothers who lead the fuel blockade movement.
A coherent left-wing alternative is very badly needed.
While Russian FPV drones crossing the Dnieper hunt civilians at bus stops in Nikopol and Kherson, while yet more one-and-a-half-ton glide bombs fall on apartment blocks in Kramatorsk, while Russian anti-war socialists rot in Mordovian prisons… the Greek “anti-imperialist” politician Yanis Varoufakis is dancing on the stage at a Moscow investment forum to a techno track repeating his own name.
How does he manage to be like this? One has to be real human mold to behave this way. I could end the post here. But I’ll add a bit more.
Tomás Ó Flatharta 