This unaltered story [1] was originally published on OpenDemocracy.org.
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Many Russians don’t want this war. The Left must unite to oppose it

By:   []

Date: 2022-03 

The Left around the world needs to unite around a simple message: no to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

There is no justification for Russia’s actions, which will result in suffering and death. In these days of tragedy, we call for international solidarity with Ukraine.

The extent of the invasion is not fully understood, but it is already clear that the Russian military has attacked targets all over the country, not just in the southeast along the border of the so-called ‘People's Republics’. Ukrainians in various cities have woken up to explosions.

The military objective of the operation has been made clear by Vladimir Putin: the complete surrender of the Ukrainian army. However, the political plan remains unclear – most likely it will be the establishment of a pro-Russian government in Kyiv.

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The Russian leadership assumes that resistance will be quickly broken and that most common Ukrainians will dutifully accept the new regime. The social consequences for Russia itself will obviously be severe – already in the morning, even before Western sanctions were announced, Russian stock exchanges collapsed and the ruble's fall broke all records.

Putin's nightly speech, in which he announced the outbreak of war, represented the unconcealed language of imperialism and colonialism.

Russia is the only country in the world that speaks like an imperialist power from the early 20th century. The Kremlin is no longer able to hide behind other grievances, including even NATO enlargement, a hatred of Ukraine proper, or a desire to teach Ukraine a lesson and punish it.

These actions are beyond rationally understood ‘interests’ and are somewhere in the realm of the ‘historical mission’ as Putin understands it.
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[1] Url: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/russians-dont-want-war-ukraine-the-left-must-oppose-it/
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