We are approaching the second anniversary of the russian empire’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Hundreds of thousands of dead have been sacrificed to the idea of a “russian world” trying to restore Moscow’s military and political power in Eastern Europe. Hopes for Russia’s imminent defeat and the collapse of the empire are now rare among activists both in Ukraine itself and in other parts of the world. On the one hand Putin’s economic and political allies have aided the Kremlin’s war machine in keeping the war going. On the other hand, growing calls for a ceasefire from all sides (including from left-wing perspectives), have only increased pressure on political elites interested in Russia’s defeat in Ukraine, and thus undermined further military support for Ukrainians from the West in resisting the invasion.
This year we have clearly seen that neither Western countries nor the russian liberal opposition are interested in the collapse of the russian empire. The risks associated with such a scenario outweigh any possibility of ending the war and freeing both Russians themselves and people in Russian-occupied territories. Obviously, there is also a need for a new revolutionary movement inside Russia, capable of breaking the political power of Moscow and rekindling the ideas of freedom and equality in the hearts of the ordinary population.
We do not expect the war in Ukraine to end in 2024. And even in the event of a truce between the Ukrainian state and the russian empire, we know that the war in the region will continue for a long time. The machine of imperial militarism that has been started will not be stopped anytime soon.
In this atmosphere, we believe it is critical to continue to support our comrades in Ukraine who are resisting russian imperialism with weapons or volunteer work. We call on all anarchists who consider the collapse of empires an important factor in the revolutionary struggle to join the February 24 demonstrations in your region and express group solidarity not only with anarchists, but all those who have taken up arms to fight for freedom and equality against the Kremlin dictatorship. To express solidarity not with the Ukrainian state, but with the peoples of Ukraine who have shown in deed what resistance means. And can there be a better flag for such solidarity than the black flag?
See you on the streets of Berlin, Warsaw and other cities!