Solidarity with Ukraine!

THE UKRAINE SOLIDARITY NETWORK (U.S.) reaches out to unions, communities and individuals from diverse backgrounds to build moral, political and material support for the people of Ukraine in their resistance to Russia’s criminal invasion and their struggle for an independent, egalitarian and democratic country.

The war against Ukraine is a horrible and destructive disaster in the human suffering and economic devastation it has already caused, not only for Ukraine and its people but also in its impact on global hunger and energy supplies, on the world environmental crisis, and on the lives of ordinary Russian people who are sacrificed for Putin’s war. The war also carries the risk of escalation to a direct confrontation among military great powers, with unthinkable possible consequences.

It is urgent to end this war as soon as possible. This can only be achieved through the success of Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s invasion. Ukraine is fighting a legitimate war of self-defense, indeed a war for its survival as a nation. Calling for “peace” in the abstract is meaningless in these circumstances.

The Ukraine Solidarity Network (U.S.) supports Ukraine’s war of resistance, its right to determine the means and objectives of its own struggle – and we support its right to obtain the weapons it needs from any available source. We are united in our support for Ukraine’s people, their military and civilian defense against aggression, and for the reconstruction of the country in the interests of the majority of its population. We stand in opposition to all domination by powerful nations and states, including by the United States and its allies, over smaller ones and oppressed peoples.

We uphold the following principles and goals:

1) We strive for a world free of global power domination at the expense of smaller nations. We oppose war and authoritarianism no matter which state it comes from, and support the right of self-determination and self-defense for any oppressed nation.

2) We support Ukraine’s victory against the Russian invasion, and its right to reparations to meet the costs of reconstruction after the colossal destruction it is suffering.

3) The reconstruction of Ukraine also demands the cancellation of its debts to international financial institutions. Aid to Ukraine must come without strings attached, above all without crushing debt burdens.

4) We recognize the suffering that this war imposes on people in Russia, most intensely on the ethnic and religious minority sectors of the Russian Federation which are disproportionately impacted by forced military  conscription. We salute the brave Russian antiwar forces speaking out and demonstrating in the face of severe repression, and we are encouraged by  the popular resistance to the draft of soldiers to become cannon fodder for  Putin’s unjust war of aggression.

5) We seek to build connections to progressive organizations and movements in Ukraine and with the labor movement, which represents the biggest part of Ukrainian civil society, and to link Ukrainian civic organizations, marginalized communities and trade unions with counterpart organizations in the United States. We support Ukrainian struggles for ensuring just and fair labor rights for its population, especially during the war, as there are no military reasons to implement laws that threaten the social rights of Ukrainians, including those who are fighting in the front lines.

UKRAINE SOLIDARITY NETWORK (U.S.) Endorsements — Short list:

John Feffer, Institute for Policy Studies, Foreign Policy in Focus, Aftershock: A Journey into Eastern Europe’s Broken Dreams

Jeffery R. Webber, Associate Professor, York University, Toronto, The Impasse of the Latin American Left

Sue Ferguson, Assoc. Professor Emerita, Wilfred Laurier University, Women and Work: Feminism, Labour, and Social Reproduction/p>

Peter McLaren, Distinguished Professor, Chapman University, Emeritus Professor UCLA, Emeritus Professor Miami University

Naomi Murakowa, Assoc Professor, Princeton Univ, The First Civil Right: How Liberals Built Prison America

Bill Fletcher Jr., Past President TransAfrica Forum

Suzi Weismann, KPFK Radio Los Angeles

Don Rojas, Independent Journalist/Activist

Eric Draitser, Author, Podcaster, CounterPunch Radio

Molly Crabapple, Visual Artist, contributing editor VICE magazine

Shiyam Galyon, Comms Strategist, Pub in Teen Vogue, TruthOut, Syrian-American activist

Dr. Ron Daniels, Institute for the Black World-21 ACTION, International Activist

Frieda Afary, Iranian American Feminist

Cindy Domingo, Legacy of Equality Leadership and Organizing (LELO), Seattle

Meizhu Lui, Former Director United for a Fair Economy, Co-author The Color of Wealth

Jamala Rogers, Founder & Past Executive Director of Organization for Black Struggles (St. Louis); author

Matthew Zawisky, Ukrainian American Civic Center, Buffalo NY

Jonathan Zenilman MD, Professor of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University

Mindy Thompson Fullilove, The New School, People’s Center for Disease Control, From Enforcers to Guardians: A Public Health Primer on Ending Police Violence

Joshua Pechtalt, California Federation of Teachers, Former President

Dayne Goodwin, AFSCME Local 1004, DSA Salt Lake

Howie Hawkins, Green Party Presidential Candidate 2020

Haley Pessin, DSA Afrosocialist Caucus

Tanya Vyhovsky, Vermont Legislature State Rep, DSA member, Ukrainian-American activist

For information about the Ukraine Solidarity Network and to sign the mission statement