Ukraine is not just a token Many on the left see events in Ukraine only as a clash between Russia on one

side, the US and EU on the other. The trouble with this perception is that it fades out Ukraine's ri ht to national self!deter"ination. #ro" the perception, so"e deduce support for Russia because they identify $i"perialis"$ solely with the US and the EU. %thers see Russia also as i"perialist, and deduce $a pla ue on all houses$. The Mornin Star &linked to the 'o""unist (arty of )ritain* often confines itself to bland factual reportin and wishes for peace, but has boosted an article by +ere"y 'orbyn, a ,abour M( with a ood record on )ritish class!stru le issues who is now close to the '() on world affairs. $-t is the US drive to e.pand eastwards which lies at the root of the crisis in the for"er Soviet republic, and it's ti"e we talked to Russia... %n Ukraine, - would not condone Russian behaviour or e.pansion. )ut it is not unprovoked...$ &Mornin Star, /0 1pril*. 'orbyn's article is also boosted by the Stop The 2ar ca"pai n &run by e.!S2( splinter 'ounterfire*. Socialist 2orker confines itself to la"entin the bi !power conflict, even!handedly. $The i"perial brink"anship in Ukraine escalated this week... The potential for the situation spirallin out of control re"ains$ &Socialist 2orker, /3 1pril*. -n its reportin on events the US Socialist 2orker &estran ed cousin of the )ritish S2* re isters, as we shall see, "ore li ht and shade. -ts botto"!line conclusion is the sa"e as the )ritish S2's4 $1s the confrontations play out in eastern Ukraine, there are si ns of hostility toward both i"perialis"s ! the US and its EU allies to the west, Russia to the east ! and of a desire for an alternative that defends the interests of the workin class. )ut it is e.actly this alternative that the i"perial powers battlin over Ukraine both wish to s5uelch... 1s lon as Ukraine re"ains a battle round for i"perialist rivals ! and pro.y forces representin one power or the other ! workin people in Ukraine will bear the brunt of the poverty, violence and sufferin $. &1lan Maass, socialistworker.or , 6/ 1pril*. The Socialist, paper of the Socialist (arty, offers si"ilar eneralities. $%nly the or anised, united workin class, with independent and internationalist policies, can decisively counter reactionary nationalis" and end bi capitalist powers' "eddlin $ &The Socialist, /7 March*. -n so"e circu"stances, to fade out the specifically Ukrainian issues would be a wise refusal to let secondary issues obscure the ist. 8urin 2orld 2ar %ne, so"e socialists ar ued for backin )ritain, #rance, and Russia on the basis of the $)el ian$ and $Serbian$ issues, i.e. the ri hts of the people of )el iu" and of Serbia to resist 9er"an and 1ustrian con5uest. ,enin retorted4 $,et us suppose that all the states interested in the observation of international treaties declared war on 9er"any with the de"and for the liberation and inde"nification of )el iu". -n such a case, the sy"pathies of Socialists would, of course, be on the side of 9er"any:s ene"ies. )ut the whole point is that the... Entente is wa in war not over )el iu"... En land is rabbin 9er"any:s colonies and Turkey; Russia is rabbin 9alicia and Turkey, #rance wants 1lsace!,orraine and even the left bank of the Rhine... -n the present war wa ed by the present overn"ents it is i"possible to help )el iu" without helpin to stran le 1ustria or Turkey, etc.<$ Today, the specific Ukrainian issues are not, or not yet, overwhel"ed by a world war over which bi power do"inates where, a war to which socialists can respond with ,enin's call to $turn the i"perialist war into a civil war$ or Trotsky's call in /7=> for a $proletarian "ilitary policy$. Respondin as if the Ukraine crisis is world war now produces no "ore than bland hand! wrin in ! not so "uch $third ca"p$ as $no ca"p$. There isn't even a "ilitary sy""etry over Ukraine. The US Socialist 2orker, despite its hand! wrin in $sy""etrical$ conclusion, notes that4 $1s for the US and its allies in Europe, their reaction to the eastern Ukraine uprisin s has been a lot of hypocritical rhetoric about respect for soverei nty and the rule of law ! but little action to back it up$. -t also factors in the historical back round4 $1ll parts of Ukraine suffered fro" Russia's i"perial rule ! first, for centuries under the Tsar; then, after a brief reco nition of national self!deter"ination followin the /7/0 Russian Revolution, under the tyranny of the Stalinist counter!revolution; and now, under Moscow's new e"pire re!established after the breakup of the e.!USSR...$

The US and the EU are predatory capitalist outfits. )ut their interest in Ukraine is to inte rate it into the capitalist world "arket do"inated by the"selves throu h econo"ic clout, not to subdue it "ilitarily. ?either the US nor the EU is about to send troops to occupy and anne. a chunk of Ukraine. The crisis in Ukraine broke out not because of conflicts between the bi powers for which Ukrainian "ove"ents were essentially just pro.ies, but because of the "ass "ove"ent in Ukraine which toppled the pro!Russian president @anukovych on 66 #ebruary. Russia has responded by invadin and anne.in 'ri"ea, by "assin troops on Ukraine's eastern borders, by insti atin or encoura in local seiAures of power by ele"ents of the ethnic!Russian "inority in so"e districts of east Ukraine. -t refuses to reco nise the ouster of @anukovych, and wants to stall the May elections scheduled in Ukraine. 1 ainst those Russian "oves, socialists should support national self!deter"ination for Ukraine. -f it should co"e to clashes between Russian troops invadin Ukraine, and the Ukrainian ar"y, we are on the side of the Ukrainians, thou h we ive no endorse"ent or confidence to the neo! liberal, oli arch!do"inated overn"ent which has replaced @anukovych in Biev. 1s well as the perception of the events as essentially a EUCUS!vs!Russia clash, with Ukraine functionin only as a token, another consideration pushes socialists towards a stance of just wishin that the conflict would o away, or be replaced by a better and socialist workin !class stru le. That is the ri ht!win tone of Ukrainian nationalis". There is so"e cross!cuttin here4 the far!ri ht forces in the anti!@anukovych "ove"ent, Svoboda and the Ri ht Sector, are not pro!EU, so if you want to dis"iss the "ove"ent as a pro.y of the EU, then you "ust fade out the far!ri ht ele"ent in it, and if you want to dis"iss the "ove"ent as far!ri ht, then you "ust fade out the $EU vs Russia$ di"ension. There were strands of anti!Russian Ukrainian chauvinis" in the "ove"ent, and the ri hts of Ukraine's Russian "inority should be defended. )ut those ele"ents should not be e.a erated, as they are by "any Stalinist nostal ics &both people, so"eti"es workers, in east Ukraine, and co""entators in the 2est*. Biev is a "ajority Russian!speakin city. The anti!@anukovych "ove"ent was do"inated by conservative and neo!liberal forces, and the new Biev overn"ent is oli arch!led. Support fro" socialists world!wide for the frail forces of the Ukrainian left is ur ent. That should not "ean fadin out Ukraine's national ri hts. )ut it does for so"e. Thus the #rench Trotskyist weekly ,utte %uvriere avoids dis"issin the conflict as just a pro.y battle, but co""ents4 $The popular "asses of Ukraine are cau ht between opposed nationalis"s, and called on to choose one or other ca"p, thou h neither is theirs$. &,utte %uvriere, /D 1pril*. +ust as the ri ht to free speech is not conditional on sayin left!win thin s, and the ri ht to vote is not conditional on votin left, the ri ht of nations to self!deter"ination is not conditional on the nation havin left!win leadership. -n the decades after /7=3 when doAens of nations won independence fro" European colonialis", the national "ove"ents often had a leftish tin e. )ut the leftis" was rarely solid enou h to stop the independent overn"ents beco"in crony!capitalist outfits, and so"eti"es it was the fake!leftis" of Stalinis", which would "ake the independent re i"es prison!houses for the workers. Those nations deserved support because of the de"ocratic principle of self! deter"ination, not because their leaderships were left!win enou h. ?ational self!deter"ination for Ukraine is a ri ht, even when the Ukraine is under ri ht!win overnance. -n a world where bi powers jostle for advanta e, national stru les by peoples oppressed by one bi power will al"ost always attract support fro" the rival bi power, which will ain advanta e fro" the people ainin independence or "ovin to so"e de ree into its sphere. The independence stru les after /7=3 of Europe's colonies usually ot support and encoura e"ent fro" the USSR; they still deserved support. The picture of the crisis in Ukraine as bein enerated by a $US Eor EUF drive to e.pand eastwards$ is as disorientin as the old ri ht!win European i"perialist line which conde"ned every independence stru le as the work of $the co""unists$. -n /7D7 the nations of Eastern Europe escaped four decades of stiflin Russian do"ination.

Most have sou ht to ce"ent their independence and seek the least!bad ter"s for inte ration into the capitalist world "arket by joinin the EU. The EU is, to be sure, bureaucratic, capitalist, and neo!liberal, as is the world "arket. -n relation to Ukraine, socialists should de"and that the US and EU cancel Ukraine's forei n debts, instead of helpin the -M# to i"pose neo!liberal "easures as the price for bail!out loans. )ut the EU is a capitalist consortiu", not a colonial e"pire like those of the first half of the 6>th century. )russels does not rule (oland or )ul aria in anythin like the sa"e way as ,ondon used to rule -ndia and ?i eria. The EU has not stopped the 'Aech Republic, for e.a"ple, "aybe the East European country "ost inte rated with the $west$, bein a notorious $awkward s5uad$ "e"ber within the EU. There is no prospect of Ukraine joinin the EU soon, because the EU will not ad"it it soon. 1 desire by Ukrainians for closer ties with the EU is not a desire to beco"e part of an e"pire ruled by a forei n capital. To see the &hesitant* EU and US support for the anti!@anukovych "ove"ent and the new Biev overn"ent as the sy""etrical counterpart to Russia's "ilitary i"perialis" in Ukraine is to skew thin s badly, and to fade out essentials. So"e roups have not faded out Ukrainian self!deter"ination in favour of just!a!bi !power! 5uarrel or all!nationalis"s!are!bad sche"es. The $Mandelite$ #ourth -nternational issued a state"ent on 63 #ebruary &bit.lyCfi!ukr* in which it was difficult to discern any conclusions at all. -ts writer 'atherine Sa"ary, in the #rench weekly ,'1nticapitaliste, de"ands the withdrawal of Russian troops &but see"s to feel that this i""ediate de"and is $unbalanced$ unless coupled with the "ore far!off de"and for $dis"antle"ent of ?1T%$* &,'1nticapitaliste, />C>=C/=*. 1s a eneral answer, she proposes a constituent asse"bly &an elected parlia"ent with constitution! "akin powers* for all Ukraine includin 'ri"ea &60C>GC/=*. $1 ainst all diktats, "ilitary and econo"ic, the defence of social and national ri hts is the only hope for Ukraine, and only the people the"selves can i"pose that$ &/0C>=C/=*. RS6/, the "ost recent splinter roup fro" the S2(, has enerally su ested the sa"e $pla ue on all houses$ line as the S2(. )ut its website has carried an infor"ative article on the "iners of the 8onbass4 $2hen protestors in Biev were attacked by the security forces in 8ece"ber 6>/G, "iners in the 8onbass put out a state"ent that they were prepared to o on all!out strike to brin down @anukovych4 '(eople of Ukraine, in /7D7, you supported our "ass strike for our ri hts. Today's "iners stand with you'. ?ow the "iners are torn. Russia cut its invest"ent in coal by =>H last year, so incorporation into Russia has little to offer; "eanwhile, the EU! Ukraine deal will also "ean dra"atic 'downsiAin ' of the coal industry, in favour of onshore as e.ploration by "ultinationals...$ &?ick Evans, /I 1pril* The -nternational Socialist ?etwork &-S?*, which splintered fro" the S2( in 6>/G, has carried an infor"ative article on the pro!Russian $people's overnor$ who briefly took over 8onetsk in early March. %n /7 1pril its website published an article by Ti" ?elson which ri htly &in our view* stressed $the direct "ilitary threat Russia poses to Ukrainian self!deter"ination$. $The Stop the 2ar 'oalition ar u"ent that 'the real ene"y is at ho"e' slo an was appropriate ceased to be a principled anti!i"perialist position, and beca"e nothin "ore than apolo is" for (utin's Russia and the re i"es he supports. This is not internationalis", as the real ene"y for the people of Syria was not the US, but 1l!1ssad and the Russian state backin hi". The sa"e is true for the Ukrainian people now$. 1s ?elson co""ents, $the anti!i"perialist consensus$ ! i.e. the consensus in a lar e!ish circle around the S2( and the '() that bein left!win in world affairs "eant backin whoever fou ht a ainst the US1 ! $has lar ely broken down$. Ukraine shows the need for "ore substantive, less ne ative, criteria in politics.