War in Ukraine: Capitalism-Imperialism Kills Workers Everywhere; As World War Approaches, Communist Organizing Is More Urgent
January 2— Ukrainian President Zelenskyy’s US visit in December was timed to guarantee Congressional support for increasing US support for weapons to Ukraine before the new Congress takes office. US rulers used it for their propaganda campaign to get US workers to support, sacrifice for, and fight for US imperialism in the name of “helping the Ukrainian people” whom the US rulers are using as cannon fodder in their war against Russia for world domination.
While arming Ukraine with Patriot missiles and more, US President Biden admitted that European allies (France and Germany) don’t want these weapons to be used to attack Russia itself, which would “start World War III.”
But the expanding war in Ukraine is already headed precisely toward World War III. Ukraine has sent US- made drones deep into Russia to attack a Russian military base, killing Russian soldiers. On Jan 1st, Ukraine used US guided missiles to attack and kill Russian soldiers in Donetsk.
Russia rulers won’t give up control of Crimea and the Donbass region (both part of Ukraine until recently). And the US rulers won’t give up on pushing Russia back. They are locked in a fight against their Russian and Chinese rival imperialists for control of the world’s markets, including which currency will dominate world trade.
Capitalism’s competitive drive to maximize profits makes ever-deadlier imperialist world war inevitable.
This means growing attacks on the world’s workers. Tens of thousands of Russian and Ukrainian soldiers and workers have been killed in this battle over which imperialist will control the world’s markets, labor, and resources.
Masses in Europe face rising prices and a cold winter because of cuts in energy. Worldwide, increasing energy prices and lack of Ukrainian grain are causing suffering and starvation from Africa to Afghanistan and beyond.
The war is expanding. Zelenskyy’s one-day trip to Washington followed Putin’s announcement in Minsk that he would provide Belarus with nuclear weapons as a “deterrent.” After Ukrainian forces attacked a Russian military base deep inside Russia, the rulers of Belarus announced the deployment of the Russian-made Iskander ballistic missile system on combat duty.
Both the US and Russia are increasing their military spending. In 2021, 1.3 million active-duty personnel served in the US Armed Forces. Russia is increasing its military from 1 million to 1.5 million personnel, expanding its officer corps and weapon systems and its commitment to spread the war against NATO. The US has begun to increase its military presence in Europe.
But who are those soldiers? Most often they are working-class youth with few other options (if any). Their families are already paying the price of imperialist war with their declining standard of living. Workers and soldiers everywhere have no interest in fighting and dying for any capitalist or imperialist. Soldiers organized by communists in the barracks – as in Russia during World War I – have turned the guns around and joined the revolutionary forces.
At the recent ICWP international conference in El Salvador, young workers (women and men) listened very attentively to speeches about the importance of communist military work. They talked about how the armies in the world come from the working class but serve the bosses. Our task is to organize soldiers into the International Communist Workers’ Party so that when the time is right those weapons turn against the capitalist class. They were encouraged to join the army to do the revolutionary work of organizing for ICWP.
Communism means an end to the profit system and its wars for empire, along with its money, wage system and markets. It means workers everywhere sharing resources to meet the needs of the international working class, not the profits of the bosses.
The Chinese communist Red Army during World War II organized itself on the communist principle “from each according to ability and commitment, to each according to need.” There were no ranks, and for a time soldiers chose their own leaders. They recruited many captured “enemy” soldiers.
After the war, many former Red Army soldiers led the way in building communist-inspired social relations in their villages.
The wars spreading in Ukraine and around the world show the urgency of communist military work today.
Read our pamphlet:
“Soldiers, Sailors, Marines: Crucial to a Communist Workers Revolution”
Available here
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