Stand by the Donbas!

Boris Litvinov and his comrades

by New Worker correspondent

Communists discussed the crisis in eastern Ukraine and the threat of war when the NCP held an online meeting with Donbas communist leaders last week. NCP leader Andy Brooks and London Organiser Theo Russell joined Boris Litvinov and his comrades from the Communist Party of the Donetsk People’s Republic (CPDPR) via video link on 17th February.
    Donetsk communist leader Boris Litvinov spoke about the threat of a Ukrainian attack on the Donbas, the prospects for the recognition of the two Donbas people’s republics by the Russian Federation, the relationship between the CPDPR, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) and the Ukrainian communist movement.
    Boris Litvinov said: "The current crisis began in the Western media, we can do nothing, it gets stronger and stronger, and we can do nothing. We think the beginning coincided with the start of the Olympics and the attempt to organise a boycott. We think the West saw this as the right time to start a campaign around Ukraine.
    "Now the Ukrainian military machine is well armed by its Western partners and there are over 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers near the border with the Donetsk People's Republic. Our people’s militias are in control of the situation on the front line, but they understand the situation is very dangerous for the Donbas People's Republics.
    "The escalation has become more and more serious, as shown by the evacuation of some Western diplomats.
    "People living near the border are suffering attacks day by day. Today the situation has become much more dangerous with increased shelling by Ukrainian forces, and the People's Militias have begun evacuating the population near the border.
    "This situation can’t be solved in Ukraine but only in Washington or Brussels. We have seen the European countries send many modern weapons to Ukraine. The escalation has become more and more serious leading to the evacuation of diplomats.
    "The day before yesterday (16 February) many Western correspondents slept outdoors, waiting for the war to start! It’s a shame the opinion they have of the People's Republics. Many brave people sang the anthem of the Soviet Union, but nothing happened.
    "We in the CP DPR are disappointed, depressed and nervous about the current situation.
Eight years ago we decided that we want to be part of the Russian world - this is our fundamental position. Russia understands and shares this position with us, and supports us from their side.
    "We strongly believe the Russian president will never leave us in any circumstances. We have waited eight years for negotiations to begin to join the Russian Federation. We don’t want war but we strongly believe that when war starts our neighbour Russia will support and protect us.
    "The most desirable situation we hope for is for Russian to recognise the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics. The State Duma of the Russian Federation understands the current situation and the wish of the people to recognise our republics. The final decision rests with the Russian Federation president.
    "We see that the president of the Russian Federation has given strong support to the Minsk Agreements, and expects the politicians to follow the agreements, but the current situation can’t continue forever.
    "For eight years Ukraine has taken no steps to fulfil the Minsk Agreements. We are ready to wait, but no more than one month or one and a half months.
    "The choice we face is that either the Russian Federation recognises us, or the Minsk Agreements are implemented. But we believe that the Western governments won’t allow Kiev to fulfil the agreements, and want increased confrontation between Ukraine and Russia.
    "We have also seen more and more international support for recognition. This morning the President of Belarus said his country was ready to recognise our republics as soon as Russia takes that step. We also know that ten states in Latin America are ready to recognise the republics.
    "The world today is divided and is no longer unipolar. For us the leading centre of the world today is Russia. We see that we have the same values, the same religion and the same hopes as Russia, and we hope that in the near future we will be a united society, a Slavic society.
    "Many people in Ukraine have the same views and concerns, and we expect them to join us in the coming future.
    "In our initiative to join Russia we are setting an example to other nations that Russia is a leading country. Each nation is free to decide on their next steps of development.
    "We say that those who join together with Russia have a strong future and we believe other nations will choose our path and join with Russia.
    "Since 1991 we have observed centrifugal forces who have divided nations, and this has led to their collapse and the dangerous situation we see now. This is the right time for nations to become a united force and a force for peace.
    "The Communist Party of Ukraine is in a very dangerous position. It is well known in Solidnet, and the CP of Ukraine, the CP of the Russian Federation and the CP DPR are united and joined with other parties in the Union of Communist Parties ( a co-ordinating body made up of communist parties in the former republics of the USSR). In this framework we meet with the CP of Ukraine and we see our aims and wishes are the same.
    "The CPRF has delivered 13,000 tons of aid to the Donetsk People’s Republic. There is strong support for the recognition of our republics, and proven friendship towards us, in the Russian State Duma.
    "The main task of all communists is to support the unification of our nation States. We believe that as time goes on we will manage to revive our former Soviet Union.
    "The current US policy is to exert maximum pressure on France, Germany and the whole of Europe, but the US is not strong enough to cope with the Russian Federation.
    "We see that although the Second World War ended 75 years ago, there are no Russian forces on the territory of the EU, but a lot of US forces on the territory of the EU, a lot of US weapons on the territory of the European Union.
    "Ten to fifteen years ago the Russian Federation took the initiative to propose a zone of safety from the Atlantic to the Urals, a concept which is not possible while there are US forces on EU territory.
    "Describing the NCP as "dear, warm friends", Boris Litvinov thanked the NCP "for your attitude and support for our actions and initiatives", and said he hoped contacts between the two parties will continue".
    In the discussion NCP general secretary Andy Brooks spoke of the erroneous position being taken by some parties in the world communist movement who argue that the US and Russia are equivalent imperialist powers and the need to build solidarity with the people of the Donbas all over the world. In Britain the NCPB was campaigning in a united front with other progressive forces in support of the Donbas republics and all the anti-fascist forces in Ukraine.

• Report in the Donbas communist media

NCP and Donbas communists hold Skype conference

By Vperyod correspondent

On 4th September, a Skype conference took place between Boris Litvinov, the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Donetsk People’s Republic (CPDPR) and the General Secretary of the New Communist Party of Britain Andy Brooks.
     Mikhail Kukhtin, the head of the international department of the CPDPR and Theo Russell, a member of the Central Committee of the NCPB also took part in the discussion.
    During the discussion, Boris Litvinov informed the British comrades about the current state of affairs in the Donetsk People's Republic and the situation on the line of contact. In particular, he stressed that the diplomatic efforts of the participants in the Minsk process managed to achieve a ceasefire.
    But, despite the agreement reached, provocations by the Ukrainian army and its advance into the neutral zone and the side of the DPR people's militia positions pose a threat to a fragile truce. This is not the first time such tactics of the Ukrainian side, the use of a truce to create favourable conditions for the further unleashing of hostilities, have been used.
    Andy Brooks informed Boris Litvinov about the work of the New Communist Party of Britain and its supporters to support the struggle of the people of Donbas to strengthen their statehood. At rallies and demonstrations held by left wing movements in Britain, the communists carry flags and symbols of the DPR, express demands to the British government about non-interference in the internal conflict of Ukraine and the former part of it which has embarked on the path of self-determination and regularly cover their activities on the pages of their weekly, the New Worker. According to Andy Brooks, there are up to 100 British military advisers in the Donbas who train the Ukrainian army according to NATO standards.
    A significant place in the conversation was taken by the discussion of the question of the entry of the DPR Communist Party into the Solidnet international organisation of communist and workers' parties.
    Mykhaylo Khuktin confirmed that there have been talks between Boris Litvinov and some leaders of the Communist Party of Ukraine. He said “Our striving to join Solidnet was welcomed at least by some of them, although the overall situation remains complicated”.
    The British comrades were interested in the issue of the Donetsk communists’ relationship with other communist parties that are members of the Union of Communist Parties – Communist Party of the Soviet Union (SKP-KPSS).
    Boris Litvinov said that the CPDPR is an official observer in the SKP-KPSS, which actively participates in the work of this organisation and maintains close comradely ties with all participating parties.
    A special relationship has developed between the Donetsk communists and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. Six years ago, the head of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Gennady Zyuganov, provided support and gave valuable recommendations during the creation of the CPDPR.
    The Communist Party of the Russian Federation provides significant humanitarian aid to the people of the Donetsk republic, especially its children. The General Secretary of the New Communist Party of Britain expressed the hope that in deciding the question of admitting the CPDPR to Solidnet, the Communist Parties of the SKP-KPSS will show their support.
    During the conversation, issues of the international situation were also discussed and the positions of the communists in various areas of party activity were expressed. Thus, the communists of the DPR and Britain agreed that the events in Belarus are an attempt by the West to first subjugate and then destroy the sovereignty of the state, toturn the Republic of Belarus into another springboard for an offensive against Russia.
    At the end of the Skype conference, the parties thanked each other for exchanging views on all the topics discussed and agreed to hold the next meeting in November.

Solidarity with Ukrainian and Donbass anti-fascists

The following letter was sent on the 3rd April  2020

We send solidarity greetings from the UK to all those living under a fascist-infested illegitimate government in Ukraine, defending and building the anti-fascist people’s republics in the Donbas, and to the hundreds of thousands forced into exile by political repression, attacks by fascist gangs and economic austerity.

Although we have had no recent Ukraine anti-fascist solidarity actions, we have by no means forgotten your struggle and the sacrifices you are making.

We were intending to begin organising another Ukraine anti-fascist solidarity protest in London in the near future, but unfortunately events in the form of the Covid-19 pandemic have overtaken us.

All of us have been working hard on other political issues, including helping to organise a very successful meeting attended by 400 people in central London on March 3^rd  which exposed the lies, tampered and falsified evidence being presented at the current MH17 trial in The Hague.

Ever since the February 22 2014 Ukraine coup we have been aware of the illiegal nature of that regime change, the open involvement of actual fascists in the government, police and armed forces, the complete suppression of democratic rights and freedoms in Ukraine, and the physical attacks on political parties, trade unions and even the courts.

We have not forgotten the heinous crime at the Odessa Trade Union House on 2^nd  May 2014 and the many other outrages perpetrated by the fascist bands, and we have not forgotten the criminal, barbaric ‘Anti-Terrorist Operation’ launched in April 2014, unleashing all-out war against civilian anti-fascist protestors in Donetsk and Lugansk.

We know that the fighters of the people’s Donbas and Lugansk People's Militias are making daily sacrifices in the front-line trenches, and that civilians – women and men, children and the elderly – are being killed and injured every day in attacks by the Ukraine armed forces and the fascist brigades.

In our solidarity work for the anti-fascists in Ukraine we are also faced with confronting the lies and whipped up hysteria against the Russian Federation and Vladimir Putin, which have continued for almost a decade.

We have no illusions about the capitalist, oligargic nature of the Russian Federation, but we reject the attempts to portray it as totally undemocratic, and we call for an end to the trade sanctions the constant western interference designed to economic instability and provoke protests. And this coming from governments which kiss the feet of the reactionary fuedal monarchs of the Middle East, and instigate coups and regime change from Brazil and Bolivia to Hong Kong.

Above all we are aware of the vital support given by the Russian Federation to the Donbas people’s republics, the generous hospitality extended to large numbers of Ukrainian exiles, and its open condemnation of the fascists in Ukraine.

We also applaud the the sacrifices made by the Russian volunteer fighters in the Donbas, by the Russian Federation’s armed forces to defend the popular front government in Syria, and the strong support the Russian Federation has extended to Cuba and Venezuela.

This anti-Russian hysteria has created a poisonous atmosphere in which anyone challenging the lies and false flag operations of of US-EU-NATO imperialism risks being labelled as a Russian asset, in a repeat of the anti-communiist witch-hunts of the 1950s.

Unfortunately many progressives, social democrats, trade unionists, and even the anti-fascist and anti-racist organisations on Britain, have fallen for this demonisation, even though it is clearly a repeat of the lies and fake news used against Saddam Hussein, Muammar Gadaffi and Hafez al Assad. This has prevented them from even discussing the most dangerous revival of fascism in the whole of Europe.

Once again we renew our support and solidarity with your organisations, which will continue as long as it takes until democracy has been restored throughout Ukraine, and communists, socialists and anti-fascists are allowed to operate freely again.

Andy Brooks

New Communist Party of Britain

Ian Donavan

Trotskyist Faction of Socialist Fight.

Gerry Downing

Socialist Fight

Bridget Dunne

Solidarity with the Anti-Fascist Resistance in Ukraine (SARU)

George Shaw

Posadists in Britain

As well as:

Frente Comunista Dos Trabalhadores (Brazil)

Tendencia Militante Bolchevique (Argentina)

Socialist Workers League (USA)

The letter was sent to the Communist Party of the Donetsk People’s Republic; Borotba, the underground Ukrainian anti-fascist resistance movement and the Union of Ukrainian Political Refugees

• Report in the Donbas communist media 
• Report by the Communist and Workers Front of Brazil
  

No more support for Kiev fascists!

By New Worker correspondent

London communists, along with many other anti-fascists, called for solidarity with the people of the Lugansk and Donetsk people’s republics in the heart of the capital on Saturday.

Twenty or more demonstrators including NCP leader Andy Brooks joined the picket opposite Downing Street called by the New Communist Party (NCP), Socialist Fight and the British Posadist movement, and supported by the Solidarity with the Anti-Fascist Resistance in Ukraine (SARU) campaign.

Protestors gathered opposite Downing Street in Whitehall to call for the British government to end all support for the Kiev regime and to back a peaceful negotiated end to the war in Ukraine. A Russian journalist from TASS covered the picket and interviewed Theo Russell, the NCP London Organiser. Further support came from Greek communists, progressive Italian students and members of many trade unions, who joined the protest and gave out leaflets on this busy thoroughfare between Trafalgar Square and Westminster. Many agreed with the sentiments and some even joined us to stand in solidarity with our demands.

The demonstrators pointed out that since the February 2014 coup there has been no democracy in Ukraine, pointing to the armed Nazi thugs on Ukraine’s streets, in the army, the police and the security service, the joint far-right militia patrols with the police, the banning of political parties, the attacks on courts, threats and intimidation of judges, and the closing down of opposition newspapers, TV and radio stations.

In July the remains of 28 soldiers of the 14th Waffen SS Division, made up of Ukrainians who fought alongside the Nazi German forces in the Second World War and assisted in the murder and deportation of millions of Jews, communists and others, were reburied near Lviv with full military honours.

Dozens of openly fascist militias have been incorporated into Ukraine’s American-trained and equipped National Guard, notably the powerful Azov Battalion, whose symbol is based on that of the Ukrainian SS Nachtigal Battalion, the ‘Wolfsangel’, that committed many atrocities during the Nazi occupation during the Second World War.

In February 2014 a fascist-backed coup took place in Ukraine. Two months later neo-Nazi thugs besieged pro-democracy protesters inside the Trade Union House in Odessa before torching it, blocking the exits to trap the victims in the blaze. The Kiev regime says 50 were killed but eyewitnesses believe the true number is well over 100. Not one of the thugs responsible for the murders has been charged because they are followers of the neo-Nazi militias that prop up the corrupt regime that does the bidding of Anglo-American and Franco-German imperialism.

Soon afterwards the people in eastern Ukraine took up the gun to defend themselves from the fascist onslaught and set up their own people’s republics in the Donbas. Thousands of Donbas civilians have been killed by the fascists and the Ukrainian army in the struggle to defend their new-born freedom.

Since the beginning of 9th July, defenders and 10 civilians have died in the Donetsk and Lugansk republics, and many more have been injured, in attacks by Ukraine’s army and the US-trained National Guard made up of fascist battalions. This year 116 civilians have died in the Donetsk People’s Republic in attacks by Kiev’s forces.

The protesters do not believe that the removal of Viktor Yanukovych in February 2014 was legitimate. Foreign secretary William Hague told parliament that his removal was “made by the Rada, the Ukrainian Parliament, by the very large majorities required under the constitution”.

In fact the vote in the Rada did not meet the two-thirds majority required under Ukraine’s constitution, and the requirements for a special commission of the Rada and a review by the Constitutional Court were not met. In effect, the change of power was a coup backed by violent protests.

• report in Ypered (Forward) the organ of the Donetsk communist party