INTERNATIONAL UKRAINE ANTI-FASCIST SOLIDARITY

  By Michael Rotenshtern Union of Political Refugees and Political Prisoners of Ukraine S anctions against the Russian Federation have already had a rather long history of their development.      Western sanctions against Russia began in 2014 following the reunification of Crimea and the Russian Federation. They were then submitted to the public of Western countries as a reaction to Russia's actions and as an attempt to force Russia to change its policy regarding Crimea and Ukraine as a whole. The sanctions since 2014 have also had their background in the internal Ukrainian conflict in the Donbas.      A qualitatively new stage in the development of the sanctions policy has come since February 2022, as a reaction to the Special Military Operation of the Russian Federation.      Now they are being served up for the public opinion of the West as a way to put economic pressure on Russia to force it to minimise its actions against the Kiev authorities, ideally to a complete retreat f

  By New Worker correspondent We had a good turn out at the International Ukraine Anti-Fascist Solidarity campaign (IUAFS) picket in Whitehall on Saturday. NCP leader Andy Brooks joined comrades and friends at another picket organised by the International Ukraine Anti-Fascist Solidarity (IUAFS) campaign to highlight the plight of political prisoners jailed by the Zelensky regime and stand by all those bravely fighting the fascism in Ukraine.      Some 30 to 40 supporters joined the lively protest including Paul C annon, the general secretary of the Workers Party of Britain, and supporters of the new No2Nato campaign who came along with their banner that was attached with the others on the railings opposite Downing Street.      "We are protesting today because we believe that the British people should be aware of the crimes committed by forces that our government has spent billions of dollars and arms supplies to prepare. We are well aware that many people are very confused by what

  By our Eastern European Affairs correspondent Vladimir Putin has endorsed the Chinese peace road-map for Ukraine. But it can be implemented only when West and Kiev are “ready” for it, the Russian president said after talks with his Chinese counterpart in the Kremlin this week.      On Monday, Chinese president Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin held almost five hours of informal talks behind closed doors. President Xi’s visit is his first to Russia since the outbreak of the Ukraine war, and also his first foreign trip since securing an unprecedented third term as China’s head of state.      Putin praised Beijing's 12-point peace plan during a summit with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. The Chinese leader said Beijing continues to strictly adhere to the UN principles over the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, maintaining a balanced position calling on all parties to exercise restraint and a return to negotiations to seek a diplomatic solution to hostilities. “We’re always for pe

by our Eastern European Affairs correspondent As Russian forces battle for control of the streets in central Bakhmut waves of Russian rockets and drones hit Kiev and other key Ukrainian cities last week in what the Kremlin says was a reprisal for a deadly Ukrainian commando attack across the border earlier in the month. Meanwhile reports claiming that the Nord Stream pipelines were sabotaged by the Ukrainians have appeared in the American press and security forces say they’ve foiled a plot to kill the pro-Russian leader of Transnistria, a breakaway republic that lies between Moldova and Western Ukraine, that has been under Russian protection since the early 1990s.      Wagner forces, Russia’s ‘foreign legion’, are fighting to root out Ukrainian troops dug in the ruins of Bakhmut with orders to delay the Russian advance for as long as possible regardless of the sacrifice. But the Ukrainian command has been blowing up bridges and pulling out their most experienced units from the city wh

by New Worker correspondent The leaders of People’s China and Belarus have expressed their "extreme interest" in a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Ukraine at a summit meeting this week. French President Emmanuel Macron says he’s going to China to call on Beijing to "help us pressure Russia" to end the war and the Russian foreign minister says his country will not allow the West to blow up any more gas pipelines.      Meanwhile Russia has halted oil supplies to Poland via the Druzhba pipeline a day after Poland delivered its first Leopard tanks to Ukraine. The Polish energy company says it was prepared for such a situation and that deliveries to its refinery can be made entirely by sea. "Only 10 per cent of the raw material came from Russia, and we will replace it with oil from other directions," Daniel Obajtek, the CEO of the Polish refiner, said.      Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko told Chinese president, Xi Jinping that his country "ful

By New Worker correspondent People’s China has launched a new initiative to end the war in Ukraine with a 12-point plan that calls for a cease-fire and the resumption of peace talks between Moscow and Kiev. The Putin government has broadly welcomed the Chinese initiative. The Germans say it needs to be seriously considered amid reports that Britain, France and Germany are proposing to send Ukraine a new tranche of weapons and economic aid as a sweetener for opening up a dialogue with the Russians. And even the Ukrainians are taking it seriously. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky says he wants to meet China's leader Xi Jinping to discuss Beijing's proposals on ending the war in Ukraine which he said showed that China was involved in the search for peace. But the Americans have already dismissed it out of hand.      China's plan calls for peace talks and respect for national sovereignty. However, the 12-point document does not specifically say that Russia must withdraw it

New Worker editorial The British government rolled out the red carpet for Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday who addressed Parliament, held talks with Sunak and had an audience with King Charles that was a Ukrainian PR dream. The British government promised to supply the Ukrainians with more heavy weapons and provide more training facilities for their fighter pilots in Britain so that Ukraine can achieve a "decisive military victory on the battlefield this year". Well, that’s what Sunak says. But what does it all mean?      Very little it seems given the parlous state of the British armed forces these days. A few Challenger tanks are hardly likely to change the balance of forces on the Donbas front as the entire Ukrainian army fights to stave off the advance of what is still only a Russian expeditionary force.      Sunak, like Boris Johnson before him, may like to pose as a world leader and the greatest friend of Ukraine in Western Europe. But at the end of the day the only powe