BAYAN USA Condemns Inter-Imperialist War in Ukraine! US-NATO & Russia Out of Ukraine!

BAYAN USA calls for an end to the war in Ukraine and an end to US-NATO intervention and warmongering. As Filipinos overseas, we express our solidarity with the working and toiling masses of Ukraine, who are caught in the crosshairs of war between imperialist powers. 

On February 24, Russia invaded Ukraine, escalating tensions in Eastern Europe between US-NATO and Russia, whose conflicting geopolitical interests have fueled this conflict.

Russia cites US-NATO efforts to recruit Ukraine into NATO as the basis for its invasion. To pressure Ukraine from joining NATO and “demilitarize and denazify Ukraine,” Russia deployed more than 100,000 troops and weaponry to its border as well as high-precision and long-range missiles in Crimea. 

As the second largest country in Europe with access to the Black Sea and borders with Russia, Ukraine is a playground of war for both US-NATO and Russia, whose interests are military, political, and economic power. However, the primary aggressor of this conflict is US-NATO, which has aggressively encircled Russia for the last few decades. When the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was created in 1949, its purpose was to prevent the expansion of the Soviet Union and stop the spread of communism around the world. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Russia was promised by the US that NATO would not expand further east. Instead, NATO recruited former Soviet Union countries, expanding from an initial twelve countries to a total of thirty. 

The dangerous position this conflict puts the people of Ukraine in is akin to the situation of the Filipino people in the inter-imperialist rivalry between the US and China. We see parallels between the US-backed Ukrainian government that was put in place through a coup against the Ukrainian pro-Russian president in 2014, and the US-backed regimes that have guaranteed the Philippines’ status as a neo-colony and US outpost in the Asia Pacific against China. 

For decades, Ukraine has suffered a series of catastrophes. The rise of modern revisionism within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and later the full-scale restoration of capitalism and collapse of the Soviet Union, spelled social and economic devastation for Ukraine. The Ukrainian bourgeoisie privatized the economy and carried out neoliberal economic policies that exploited the working and lower classes of Ukraine. Inside Ukraine, the struggle between bourgeois factions has intensified, with some wanting to integrate with the European Union and others wanting to join the Russia-led alliance. 

Although the histories and situations of both countries are distinct, BAYAN USA holds that the class contradictions within countries like Ukraine and the Philippines are internal problems that must be resolved by a sovereign people. US-NATO and Russia must stop exploiting and aggravating the internal crisis within Ukraine for their own geopolitical interests, just as the US and China must stop violating the sovereignty of the Philippines.

Contrary to mainstream discourse, weapons sales and transfers to Ukraine and NATO countries surrounding Russia will not benefit the people on the ground. More than 210,000 Ukrainian refugees have already fled the country in the last week, not including the many who were internally displaced. Non-Ukrainian migrants are among these refugees, including dozens of Filipinos residing in Ukraine. Black and brown migrants fleeing Ukraine have encountered the most difficulties, facing discrimination and rejection by receiving countries. 

As Filipinos in the United States, we must unite with other anti-war and anti-imperialist forces to oppose US-NATO and imperialist war. We must unite with other oppressed people and build a movement against US-led war! 

Condemn US-NATO warmongering and aggression against Russia!

Condemn Russian military intervention and aggression in Ukraine! 

US-NATO & Russia Out of Ukraine! 

Support the militant struggle of the Ukrainian people for democracy, social liberation and self-determination!