General Fabien Mandon was dressed up in his full military regalia to deliver a message to France. They had to prepare for war and, he warned, if the country ‘falters because it is not ready to accept losing its children . . . then we are at risk”.
In the same week, the German defence minister Boris Pistorius told his fellow citizens that they “may have already lived through the last peaceful summer”. In both countries, preparations are underway to reintroduce military conscription.
Meanwhile, the Irish elite echo the same drumbeat – the Russians are coming, and we must be ‘mature’ and prepare for war.
A reality check is in order. About 7,690 young men are killed every month in the Ukraine war, and over 300,000 have died already. Hundreds of thousands more are injured, without limbs or suffering from PTSD. These are not the children of the ‘patriotic’ leaders. Putin has used the war to strengthen his repressive apparatus and you can now get 15 years in jail for opposing the war. Over the past three years, over 20,000 people have been jailed in Russia for criticising this brutal war.
And don’t let anyone convince you that Zelenskyy has clean hands. According to his former adviser, Alexander Rodnyansky, Ukrainian prosecutors have opened over 300,000 cases related to absence without leave and desertion since the war began. Many flee for fear of being press-ganged into fighting at the front. Meanwhile, Zelenskyy’s associates gather bribes for war contracts. They have skimmed 10-15% from Energoatom contracts, including those meant to protect substations from Russian missiles. The money was routed through a network linked to Timur Mindich, a long-time business associate of Kvartal 95, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s media production company, who conveniently left the country just before searches began.
Socialists have opposed Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. In his long, rambling speech justifying it back in 2022, Putin blamed Lenin and the Bolsheviks for implanting the idea that Ukraine could be separate from Russia. People Before Profit were among the first to organise a protest at the Russian Embassy in Dublin, where they were addressed – courtesy of modern technology – by an anti-war dissident from Russia.
Yet while socialists have been consistent, the double standards of Western leaders is astounding. They attack Russia’s invasion but then support Israel in its colonisation of Palestine. A UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which condemned the occupation, did not prevent Germany, Britain and France from supplying it with weapons to carry out genocide in Gaza. While the EU has allocated €177 billion and the US has given €115 billion to Ukraine, not one cent has been given to Palestinian resistance.
The EU leaders are using the war in Ukraine to change the nature of their rule. Their previous ideology of neoliberalism has run aground as many see through its rhetoric about ‘freedom’ and the primacy of markets. Just like Trump, they want to inculcate a ‘warrior spirit’ in their population. Hence the constant scare stories about Russian ‘aggression’ – as if EU countries never had imperial ambitions.
These have become ever more fantastical. A Russian spy ship apparently targeted lasers at RAF pilots; drones have entered Polish airspace; military equipment has been found on railway lines. The most obvious point is missed – if it has taken over two years for Russian forces to capture the Donbas, how could they invade countries as far away as France or Ireland?
In Ireland, the main story is about the threat to underwater cables. Beyond the Russian threat, about 100 cables are cut each year, mainly by shark bites, fishing gear, or anchors. It is not Ireland’s job to protect the cables of telecom companies, which, according to Edward Snowden, have given access to the British spy agency, GCHQ.
Peace negotiations between Trump and Moscow have unsettled the EU leaders. Trump wants to cut US aid to Ukraine as he thinks this is an unwinnable war. His focus is on a military rivalry with China, and he wants to pull Putin into a new geopolitical alliance. After all, his anti-LGBT rhetoric, his chauvinism, and his strong man image resemble Trump himself. Trump wants to grab Ukrainian rare earth minerals and profit from a share of frozen US assets. Like every imperial master, he demands more ‘burden sharing’ from his subordinates.
The EU leaders, however, do not want peace. They have already spent huge sums on the war and want some return. They are stirring up talk of war among their population but they also know that they are militarily weak. They need US support, and will continue to need it, until they have fully re-armed. Hence, the sickening strategy of flattery for Trump and the mealy-mouthed declaration that ‘we too are for peace’. Meanwhile, they pour billions into their military-industrial complex and rob their populations of decent public services.
Socialists oppose all talk of a coming war in Europe. We expose the rhetoric behind the increases in military spending and the boost this gives to the profits of the arms companies.
We do not line up behind Trump’s peace plan as it reflects his wider imperial ambitions. But neither do we join an EU chorus that seeks endless war. We will not join the welcoming party for Zelenskyy’s visit to Dublin this week. We have every sympathy with resistance to occupation, but Zelenskyy has reconfigured himself as the voice of EU militarism. He has, tragically, become a mouthpiece for the generals who demand that we send our children to die.
