Friday, February 25, 2022

Against the Invasion of Ukraine: Support Resistance to the War

Caught between rival factions of the ruling class and the escalating possibility of world war, the exploited and excluded of the Ukraine now find themselves assaulted by an all out invasion by Putin. While authoritarians on the Left, Right and in the Center cheer on their factions, as anarchists we stand in solidarity with the masses who are pushing back against governments across the world who all have a hand in this war. We also stand in solidarity with anarchist and autonomous groups on the ground who are actively engaged in resisting the current nightmare as well as the thousands across the globe who have taken to the streets, especially in countries like Russia at great risk to themselves, to denounce the current invasion and demand an end to the war.

In a recent statement on social media, the Federation of Anarchists and Syndicalists in the US summed it up nicely:

There are few words to describe the shock and awe of this moment. Russia has commenced with a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, with reports of bombardments of all Ukraine’s largest cities and civilian infrastructure, as well as cyber-attacks and reports of Russian troops crossing the border into Ukrainian-controlled territory. While we’ve made it clear that one need not put their support behind any side, in particular in conflicts between corrupt, capitalist powers, it is exceptionally clear that Putin has set forth a series of events that will inevitably lead to misery and suffering on a scale not seen in decades. Thousands of deaths. Tens of thousands of casualties. Millions of refugees torn from their homes by the whims of a tyrant grasping at decaying dreams of a long-dead empire. We offer our love and solidarity to not only all Ukrainians, but also those Russians who oppose this war and refuse to consume nationalistic state propaganda and will also be negatively affected by this war and the autocrats who started it.

We have already reached out to our associates in Ukraine. They remain strong in the face of struggle, and will not yield to tyrants in their quest to build a better, freer future for Ukraine. We here in the Federation of Anarchists and Syndicalists will do our best to boost any efforts our friends in Ukraine wish to share. The last time Russian and Ukrainian forces became embroiled in a conflict of this scale, the Free Territory sprang up thanks to the work of thousands of good people on the ground who understood what it meant to seek freedom liberty. We hope that from this conflict a similar, more everlasting ray of hope breaks through the scorched surface. In the meantime, we encourage you to reach out to any friends and loved ones you may have on either side of the Russia-Ukraine border. Make sure they are well. From Boston to Kiev, Manchester to Odessa, united we stand.

With this roundup, we bring you statements, articles, podcasts, and analysis from anarchists and autonomous anti-capitalist groups – both in the US and in the Ukraine and Russia – in an attempt to learn more about the situation, offer mutual aid, and support emergent struggles on the ground against the war and the far-Right.

Anarchist and Autonomous Anti-Capitalist Analysis

“We spoke about the relationship between Russia and Ukraine, the Maidan uprising and war in the Donbass, resistance to the invasion of Ukraine and the Putin regime, conspiracy theories about Ukraine promoted by Russia and Russian-aligned media outlets, critiques of the Ukrainian state, and anarchists choosing their own path of self-defense and revolutionary mutual aid in the face of invading armies.”

“In this hasty update, we review some of today’s efforts to resist the Russian invasion of Ukraine—from both Russians within the repressive conditions of Russian society and Ukrainians experiencing the full force of military attacks.”

“In hopes of providing crucial background on the current tensions between Russia, Ukraine, the United States, and other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), we present the transcript of an excellent interview with an anarchist in Ukraine, followed by another perspective contributed by a Ukrainian anarchist from Lugansk who is now located in Kiev.”

“This text was composed together by several active anti-authoritarian activists from Ukraine. We do not represent one organization, but we came together to write this text and prepare for a possible war.”

“This statement appeared in Russian on avtonom.org, a media project that grew out of the libertarian communist network Autonomous Action.”

“Soviet propaganda has been very successful in instilling in people the myth that anarchists are drunks and hooligans whose ideas preach chaos. Proponents of anarchist ideas were exterminated in prisons. However, we can now see the anarchist movement begin to recover and develop.”

“In a bid to combat the growing far-right, a group of anarchists calling themselves Rev Dia (Revolutionary Action) have begun to organise.”

“The FSB, the modern incarnation of the KGB, the secret political police force, has pushed a narrative that a vast network of anarchist terrorists exists, and is a threat to the wider public. Under such a pretext, the Russian State has began a campaign of rounding people up, torturing them, and then releasing them back onto the street.”

Support Refugees Fleeing Conflict

Support Anarchists Facing Repression

Ukrainian Anarchist Info Center

Solidarity Actions

  • Seattle, USA

  • Dresden, Germany

  • Hamburg, Germany

  • Moscow, Russia

  • Ankara, Turkey


by It's Going Down via It's Going Down
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