Vitaliy Dudin (pictured)
WHAT PREVENTS ENDING OF WAR? TWO MAIN PROBLEMS
Despite some expectations, the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine continues and becomes more intense. Everyday I see a tremendous picture of mass destruction in my native Kyiv, Kharkiv and other beautiful places, which has been difficult to imagine. Scenes from a disaster movie became part of our everyday life. Places where we used to walk turned into black ashes and ruins. Meanwhile Russian invaders commence new assaults not only in the East and South, but also in the North, in the Sumy region. Here, in Ukraine, this war genuinely has the character of a people's war due to the scale of participation of population in the war effort: more than a million serving in the military, slightly more engaged in critical infrastructure sectors and many others involved in volunteer activities. The Istanbul negotiations are hiding the expansionist plans of Moscow and can hardly be successful (see explanation below).
Even my existence as a civilian and labour rights activist has changed dramatically. I receive a messages from railway workers who need money for drones and other equipment; relatives of workers who died from missile attacks on their workplaces inform me about their problems with social support; nurses near the front line complain about the non-payment of extra payments which they are entitled to. Sometimes we succeed in overcoming such challenges, but all of us want the war to end as quickly as possible.
Of course, the heroic resistance of Ukrainian defenders and amazing special operations on Russian territory have contributed a lot to dismantle the Kremlin's war machine. But after losing US military support the chances for the strategic victory of Ukraine have narrowed.
The Istanbul negotiations have clearly demonstrated that the Ukrainian position has become much more flexible and aimed at a peaceful solution (the 30-day ceasefire proposal is an example). On the other hand, the Russian demands look even more offensive and aggressive. Thanks to Donald Trump, Russia has gained the initiative on the battlefield and it reflects the objective reality. The impossibility of ending the war comes from the weak bargaining position of Ukraine and it cannot be overcome by a harsher mobilisation.
So which factors make Ukraine weaker?
Problem 1 – Pseudo-pacifism among Western progressive forces
The first problem is exceptionally painful for me to admit. A lot of people in the socialist movement traditionally don't want to deal with the issues like violence, state and sovereignty. That leads them to an incorrect understanding of the Ukrainian situation. Some of them do not recognise the decolonising and anti-imperialist nature of the Ukrainian struggle. Their analysis is based on an outdated vision of the international system where the US is considered as the only imperialist power and Russia is pictured as its victim. Not even Donald Trump, who warmly “understands” the imperialist sentiment of Putin, has not changed the conclusions of persons who claim to be left intellectuals. The most reactionary regimes in American and Russian history putting an enormous pressure on Ukraine, while some continue seeking arguments as to why the nation attacked doesn’t deserve international support. I am curious how the protagonists of “proxy war” theory live with the fact that Ukraine continues its fight without direct US aid and even despite its opposition.
A lot of leftists oppose military support because of their anti-militarist ethic. By providing a sophisticated philosophical motivation for not sending arms to an invaded country they lead to more suffering of the innocent. The contradictory meaning of this statement becomes especially absurd when it is promoted by people who claim to be a revolutionary or radicals… For me it is clear that such dreamers want to live a flourishing life inside a capitalist system without real prospects of overthrowing it. To be against the arms to Ukraine means to reconcile oneself to the evil of enslavement. Living under protection of NATO while being afraid of the “excessive militarisation” of Ukraine looks like hypocrisy.
And the opposite holds: if Ukrainian workers win the war they will be inspired enough to continue an emancipatory struggle for social justice. Their energy will reinforce the international labour movement. Experience of the armed resistance and collective action – that is a key precondition for the emergence of the true social movements that will challenge the system.
Problem 2 – The Ukrainian state’s inability to put the public interest over market interests
The ruling elites in Ukraine promote the free market and profit-driven system as the only possible method of organisation of economy. Any idea of state planning or nationalisation of enterprises can be rejected as a Soviet throwback. The problem is that the Ukrainian variant of capitalism is totally peripheral and incompatible with the mobilisation of adequate resources for the war effort.
This dominant ideological dogmatism has stuck Ukraine in the trap of economic backwardness and great dependence on foreign aid.
We live in a country of wealthy statesmen and a poor state. The government is trying to narrow its responsibility for managing the economic process, avoiding placing a high progressive tax on the rich and the corporations. This leads to situation where the burden of war is borne by ordinary people, who pay taxes from low wages, who serve in the army, who lose their homes…
It should be impossible to imagine unemployment during a full-scale war. But in Ukraine it exists along with an extremely-high level of economic inactivity on the part of the population along with an incredible workforce shortage. These deficiencies can be explained by unwillingness of the state to create workplaces and the absence of a strategy for the mass involvement of people in the economy through the employment centres. Our politicians think that historical disproportions in the labour market can be solved without active state intervention! Unfortunately, deregulation during wartime has created plenty of counter-incentives that demotivate Ukrainians from moving into salaried employment. That’s why the quality of employment should be improved through the wage growth, strong labour inspections and a broad space for workplace democracy.
Only democratic socialist policy can reveal the pathway to a sustainable future for Ukraine, where all productive forces work for national defense and socially just protection.
And now we can get straight to the point. Without comprehensive military and humanitarian support Ukraine will not be able to protect its democracy and its defeat will affect the level of political freedom all over the world.
But, on the other hand, we should be critical of Ukrainian governmental officials and their reluctance to end with the neoliberal consensus undermining the war effort. It will be especially difficult to win a war against the foreign invader while experiencing the mass of internal problems arising from our dysfunctional capitalist economy.