|
UNAC Statement on the Present Russia -
Ukraine Crisis 12/4/18 Tensions between Russia and Ukraine have risen sharply following the
Nov. 25 seizure of three Ukrainian naval vessels and the detention of 24
Ukrainian sailors by the Russian navy. The incident took place as the vessels
were attempting to pass from the Black Sea through the narrow Kerch Strait
into the Sea of Azov, a shallow body of water bounded by Ukraine to the
northwest and Russia to the southeast. After the incident, Russia blocked
some additional naval traffic through the strait. Ukraine is calling the Russian actions a violation of international
law, while Russia says the Ukrainian ships attempted an unauthorized passage
through Russian territorial waters. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has called on NATO to send
warships into the Sea of Azov. He also has declared martial law in areas of
Ukraine bordering Russia, claiming a possible Russian invasion. For its part, Russia is charging that Poroshenko provoked the
incident in order to build up nationalist support ahead of the presidential
elections scheduled for March 31. Most polls show his approval ratings barely
reaching double digits. It’s also possible that Poroshenko was willing to put
his own country at risk in order to ingratiate himself with his anti-Russian
Western patrons. As of Dec. 3, there is no indication that NATO will intervene, but
virtually all establishment observers are describing the situation as very
dangerous. BACKGROUND TO THE PRESENT CRISIS It’s impossible to understand anything about present
Russian-Ukrainian relations without going back at least to late 2013, when
mass demonstrations broke out against then-Ukrainian president Viktor
Yanukovych. Ukraine was trying to decide if it wanted closer economic relations
with Russia, its traditional major trading partner, or with the wealthier
European Union. The country’s parliament, or Rada, was pro-EU, while
Yanukovych favored Russia. At the time - as now - many of the country’s
politicians were corrupt, including Yanukovych, so there already was popular
resentment against him. When he decided to oppose the Rada over trade
agreements, mass protests took place in Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) in the capital city
of Kiev. But what began as peaceful, even celebratory gatherings were quickly
taken over by right-wing paramilitary organizations modeled after WWII-era
Ukrainian militias allied with the Nazi occupiers. Violence followed and
Yanukovych fled the country. He was replaced by acting president Oleksandr Turchynov, and then the pro-U.S., pro-EU,
pro-NATO Poroshenko. The movement that came to be known as Maidan
was an illegal, unconstitutional, violent coup - and it was backed to the
hilt by the U.S. government and many countries in the European Union. Then-Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs
Victoria Nuland, who personally cheered on the Maidan
protesters, later bragged that the U.S. had spent $5 billion preparing
Ukraine “to achieve its European aspirations.” In other words, the U.S. had
spent $5 billion intervening in the internal affairs of Ukraine to help steer
it away from Russia and toward an alliance with the West. Neo-liberal George Soros’ Open Society Foundation also played a major
role, as it explains on its website, working since 1990 “helping to
facilitate Ukraine’s European integration.” AFTERMATH OF THE COUP The coup split the country along the lines of ethnicity and politics
and had devastating consequences for Ukraine, a fragile nation that has only
been an independent country since 1991. Before that it was part of the Soviet
Union, and before that it was a contested region dominated by a series of
other forces, including Vikings, Mongols, Lithuanians, Russians, Poles and
Austrians. Today 17.3 percent of the population is made up of ethnic Russians,
who live mainly in the eastern part of the country, which borders Russia.
Many more speak Russian as their primary language. And they tend to identify
with the Soviet victory over the Nazi occupation of Ukraine. During Soviet times, both Russian and Ukrainian were official state
languages. One of the first acts of the new coup government was to declare
that the only official language would be Ukrainian. It also quickly went
about banning symbols of the Soviet era, replacing them with memorials to
Nazi collaborators. Shortly after the coup, fears of domination by an anti-Russian,
pro-fascist central government led the people of Crimea to hold a referendum
in which the majority voted to reunite with Russia. (Crimea had been part of
Soviet Russia until 1954, when it was administratively transferred to Soviet
Ukraine.) Russia agreed and annexed the region. This was the “invasion”
denounced by Kiev and the West. Meanwhile, fighting broke out in the heavily industrialized and
largely ethnic Russian region of Donbass, with local leftists declaring
independence from Ukraine. This sparked a fierce Ukrainian opposition and
fighting that to date has cost some 10,000 lives. And in the historically Russian-oriented city of Odessa, a movement
emerged that demanded a federal system in which local governors would be
locally elected, not appointed by the central government, as they are now. On
May 2, 2014, dozens of activists promoting this view were massacred at the
House of Trade Unions by a fascist-led mob. (See https://odessasolidaritycampaign.org/) All this would make the national situation difficult enough, but
these crises took place within the international context of rising tensions
between the U.S.-led West and Russia. WHO IS THE REAL AGGRESSOR? Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the U.S.-led North Atlantic
Treaty Organization, or NATO, has been recruiting the former Soviet republics
into its anti-Russian alliance. Ukraine is not yet a NATO member, but it
operates as such in all but name. The U.S. and other Western countries train
and supply its soldiers, help build its bases and conduct regular, massive
land, sea and air military exercises with Ukraine, which has a 1,200-mile
land border with Russia and with which it shares the Black Sea and the Sea of
Azov. Politically, Russia is blamed for every evil under the sun, while
being projected as a mighty military power whose aggressive intentions must
be stopped. The truth is that, while Russia has rough parity with the West in
terms of nuclear weapons, its total military spending is just 11 percent that
of the U.S. and 7 percent that of the combined 29 NATO countries. It is the
U.S. and NATO militaries that are operating right up to Russia’s borders, not
the other way around. And, increasingly, Ukraine is becoming the central
battleground for this emerging U.S./NATO - Russia crisis. However the present crisis is resolved, we must remember that working
and oppressed people in the West have nothing to gain from this dangerous
situation, and everything to lose if war against Russia were actually to
break out. The antiwar movement and its allies must speak out forcefully
against U.S. and NATO aggression. We must demand that the massive amounts of
tax dollars being spent on war and war preparations instead be used for the
good of the people here at home and reparations for the crimes Washington and
NATO have committed abroad. Stop the Aggression against Russia! No to NATO, No to War! Money for Jobs & Education, not for Wars & Occupation! Stop the Wars at Home & Abroad! |
