One epistemological issue with this position is that it excessively diminishes Ukrainian agency. Ukraine is, of course, greatly dependent on Western sponsorship (but do you know any European country which can boast complete independence from US or Germany?), but it is not simply a Western pawn, it has agenda and agency of its own. On Russian-occupied territories, it is not only big capitalists whose assets are being expropriated in favour of Russian state and the capitalists connected to it. Farmers also have their grain confiscated, while workers have to forget about independent, democratic unionism. Anybody suspected of "Ukrainian nationalism" may be executed on the spot by the occupiers. So, the majority of Ukrainians do not wish their territory to be occupied, not because they are blindly following the intransigent line of the likes of Mr. Johnson, but because they want a modicum of physical security and democratic representation, which Russian state won't guarantee them. That is why they need arms, and that is why they are mostly opposed to territorial compromises. Overall, it is not simply a West vs Russia confrontation. It also a Russian Reconquista campaign fiercely resisted by the locals who in many cases would prefer to die or emigrate to becoming Moscow's subjects. After all, they know much better than the gentleman who wrote this piece what "subjecthood" means in Muscovy....
===
I agree
While Ukraine burns: why is the west prolonging the war?
May 27, 2022
Written by Chris Nineham
Published in Opinion
Finish and Swedish Defence Ministers meeting NATO Secretary General. Photo: NATO - Fllickr / cropped from original/ shared under license CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 / linked below
Chris Nineham describes the immense suffering and misery the Ukraine war is causing and why despite this, Biden and Johnson are pushing for more war
The war in Ukraine is already causing horrific suffering for the people of Ukraine. As last week’s UN food conference warned, it is now threatening to spark famine in Ukraine itself and across whole swathes of the globe.
Despite these dire warnings, the US, with strong support from Britain, continues to pile on the military pressure. Last week’s $40 billion aid package to Ukraine, largely military, is the biggest to be granted to any country in recent memory and sends a clear signal that the US is focused on a military solution.
The decision by Finland and Sweden to apply to join NATO – applauded by Boris Johnson amongst others – has ratcheted up the tension. Within days Putin cut gas supplies to the country and pledged to set up three military bases in border areas.
Perhaps most irresponsible of all has been the pressure applied by Western leaders to dissuade Zelensky from getting drawn into negotiations with Russia. Controversy about negotiations continues. Last Saturday President Zelensky publicly repeated his view that only diplomacy can end the war. The next day, the Polish Prime Minister used his speech at the Ukrainian parliament to oppose ceding any territory to Russia, arguing to do so would be a “huge blow” to the entire West.
The West’s approach to the war is to do as much damage to Russia as possible. The US defence secretary Lloyd Austin isn’t hiding the fact. In his own words:
‘We want to see Russia weakened to the degree that it can’t do the kinds of things that it has done in invading Ukraine,’
This posture is not just prolonging the war, it is risking escalation and generating dangerous scarcities around the world. Russia’s naval blockade of the Black Sea is helping to create a huge economic crisis for Ukraine with ripple effects around the world. Massive grain stockpiles in Ukraine can go nowhere while the Black Sea Ports are blockaded.
But this comes on top of the impact of the war itself and the massive sanctions that have been imposed by the West against Russia. David Beasley, Executive Director of the World Food Programme spelt out the problem at the UN food conference last week, “When a nation that is the breadbasket of the world becomes a nation with the longest bread line of the world, we know we have a problem.”
A global food crisis, already sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change, is being driven to famine levels worldwide by the war. Food scarcity, sanctions and fuel blockades are also adding to pre-existing inflationary pressure that is already impacting the lives of millions around the globe. The month of March saw unprecedented rises in the price of food across all categories.
Leaders on both sides remain committed to war regardless. Russia wants the leverage that would come from the successful occupation of the bulk of the Donbass. While China is the US’s main global concern, Russia is a troublesome regional competitor. As CIA Director William J Burns complained recently, Putin ‘demonstrates in a very disturbing way that declining powers can be equally as disruptive as rising ones.’
Russia is the fourth highest military spender in the world and ranks even higher in terms of firepower. Before the war started Russia was the biggest supplier of oil and gas to Europe and was developing a threatening alliance with the Chinese. Putin’s invasion gave the US an opportunity to break Europe’s ‘addiction’ to Russian oil and gas, and to force Germany firmly back into the fold. The results are already coming clear.
German chancellor Olaf Scholz has already promised a €100 billion fund for the military, the biggest increase in the country’s military expenditure since the end of the cold war. He has also committed to spending more than 2 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product on the military.
This is a historic change and more and more European countries are following suit. The rearming of Europe has been something successive American presidents have argued for, going back as far as Eisenhower.
Never mind the chaos and misery the war is generating around the world, the chance of destroying the Putin regime, sending a message to China about what happens when you attack western allies, and remilitarizing Europe is too good to miss for Washington and Whitehall. That is why, for Biden and Johnson, the war in Ukraine is a good war.
====
Before you go...
Counterfire is expanding fast as a website and an organisation. We are trying to organise a dynamic extra-parliamentary left in every part of the country to help build resistance to the government and their billionaire backers. If you like what you have read and you want to help, please join us or just get in touch by emailing info@counterfire.org. Now is the time!
Originally posted by Stop The War
Creative Commons 2.0
If you enjoyed this article please donate to CounterfireDONATE
====
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Ukraine: Boris Johnson is fanning the flames of war
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Tagged under:NATORussiaStop the WarUkraineWarBoris JohnsonBiden
Chris Nineham
Chris Nineham is a founder member of Stop the War and Counterfire, speaking regularly around the country on behalf of both. He is author of The People Versus Tony Blair and Capitalism and Class Consciousness: the ideas of Georg Lukacs.
MORE ARTICLES FROM THIS AUTHORThe start of a war and the end of an era: How the invasion of Ukraine is changing the world
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Causes and effects: Russian aggression, Nato and the war in Ukraine
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'Tell that to the Afghan people': Chris Nineham on idea that Nato is a defensive alliance - video
Super-rich Sunak says ‘adjust’ to poverty. We say: hit the streets
Written by Chris Nineham
Published in Opinion
Finish and Swedish Defence Ministers meeting NATO Secretary General. Photo: NATO - Fllickr / cropped from original/ shared under license CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 / linked below
Chris Nineham describes the immense suffering and misery the Ukraine war is causing and why despite this, Biden and Johnson are pushing for more war
The war in Ukraine is already causing horrific suffering for the people of Ukraine. As last week’s UN food conference warned, it is now threatening to spark famine in Ukraine itself and across whole swathes of the globe.
Despite these dire warnings, the US, with strong support from Britain, continues to pile on the military pressure. Last week’s $40 billion aid package to Ukraine, largely military, is the biggest to be granted to any country in recent memory and sends a clear signal that the US is focused on a military solution.
The decision by Finland and Sweden to apply to join NATO – applauded by Boris Johnson amongst others – has ratcheted up the tension. Within days Putin cut gas supplies to the country and pledged to set up three military bases in border areas.
Perhaps most irresponsible of all has been the pressure applied by Western leaders to dissuade Zelensky from getting drawn into negotiations with Russia. Controversy about negotiations continues. Last Saturday President Zelensky publicly repeated his view that only diplomacy can end the war. The next day, the Polish Prime Minister used his speech at the Ukrainian parliament to oppose ceding any territory to Russia, arguing to do so would be a “huge blow” to the entire West.
The West’s approach to the war is to do as much damage to Russia as possible. The US defence secretary Lloyd Austin isn’t hiding the fact. In his own words:
‘We want to see Russia weakened to the degree that it can’t do the kinds of things that it has done in invading Ukraine,’
This posture is not just prolonging the war, it is risking escalation and generating dangerous scarcities around the world. Russia’s naval blockade of the Black Sea is helping to create a huge economic crisis for Ukraine with ripple effects around the world. Massive grain stockpiles in Ukraine can go nowhere while the Black Sea Ports are blockaded.
But this comes on top of the impact of the war itself and the massive sanctions that have been imposed by the West against Russia. David Beasley, Executive Director of the World Food Programme spelt out the problem at the UN food conference last week, “When a nation that is the breadbasket of the world becomes a nation with the longest bread line of the world, we know we have a problem.”
A global food crisis, already sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change, is being driven to famine levels worldwide by the war. Food scarcity, sanctions and fuel blockades are also adding to pre-existing inflationary pressure that is already impacting the lives of millions around the globe. The month of March saw unprecedented rises in the price of food across all categories.
Leaders on both sides remain committed to war regardless. Russia wants the leverage that would come from the successful occupation of the bulk of the Donbass. While China is the US’s main global concern, Russia is a troublesome regional competitor. As CIA Director William J Burns complained recently, Putin ‘demonstrates in a very disturbing way that declining powers can be equally as disruptive as rising ones.’
Russia is the fourth highest military spender in the world and ranks even higher in terms of firepower. Before the war started Russia was the biggest supplier of oil and gas to Europe and was developing a threatening alliance with the Chinese. Putin’s invasion gave the US an opportunity to break Europe’s ‘addiction’ to Russian oil and gas, and to force Germany firmly back into the fold. The results are already coming clear.
German chancellor Olaf Scholz has already promised a €100 billion fund for the military, the biggest increase in the country’s military expenditure since the end of the cold war. He has also committed to spending more than 2 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product on the military.
This is a historic change and more and more European countries are following suit. The rearming of Europe has been something successive American presidents have argued for, going back as far as Eisenhower.
Never mind the chaos and misery the war is generating around the world, the chance of destroying the Putin regime, sending a message to China about what happens when you attack western allies, and remilitarizing Europe is too good to miss for Washington and Whitehall. That is why, for Biden and Johnson, the war in Ukraine is a good war.
====
Before you go...
Counterfire is expanding fast as a website and an organisation. We are trying to organise a dynamic extra-parliamentary left in every part of the country to help build resistance to the government and their billionaire backers. If you like what you have read and you want to help, please join us or just get in touch by emailing info@counterfire.org. Now is the time!
Originally posted by Stop The War
Creative Commons 2.0
If you enjoyed this article please donate to CounterfireDONATE
====
RELATED ARTICLES
Ukraine: Boris Johnson is fanning the flames of war
Starmer smears Stop the War to side with the warmongers
Biden's presidency, the warmakers and the anti-war movement in the US
HMS Provacateur and British brinkmanship in the Black Sea
No war in Ukraine: stop Nato’s warmongering
Tagged under:NATORussiaStop the WarUkraineWarBoris JohnsonBiden
Chris Nineham
Chris Nineham is a founder member of Stop the War and Counterfire, speaking regularly around the country on behalf of both. He is author of The People Versus Tony Blair and Capitalism and Class Consciousness: the ideas of Georg Lukacs.
MORE ARTICLES FROM THIS AUTHORThe start of a war and the end of an era: How the invasion of Ukraine is changing the world
Starmer's war on Corbyn and the anti-war left
Letting the cat out of the bag? Biden, Putin and regime change
Causes and effects: Russian aggression, Nato and the war in Ukraine
Imperial rivalry and the war in Ukraine - video
'Tell that to the Afghan people': Chris Nineham on idea that Nato is a defensive alliance - video
Super-rich Sunak says ‘adjust’ to poverty. We say: hit the streets
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