What the U.S. is doing in the Ukraine is nothing short of criminal. The U.S. is backing outright fascists, in an effort to put the country under the domination of the West. The White House and Pentagon are acting as a threat to peace by imposing sanctions on Russia and sending warships and missiles into the region. All progressive people should oppose the ongoing U.S. intervention in the Ukraine.

In February, reactionary mobs with fascist gangs in the lead managed to bring down the democratically-elected government of President Viktor Yanukovych. This was the culmination of a process promoted by the U.S. and countries of the European Union to bring instability and turmoil to the Ukraine. The U.S. alone spent about $5 billion on the project. The result was there for all of us to see on TV: neo-Nazis trying to destroy monuments to the heroes of World War II and the socialist past and seizing government buildings.

To say that the movement that ousted President Yanukovych was something progressive or democratic is to confuse right and wrong. Certainly there were legitimate reasons to be dissatisfied with Yanukovych and his oligarch associates, but that does not change the reactionary nature of the anti-government turmoil.

It is a fact that the leading forces in this right-wing movement, such as Right Sector and Svoboda, have their roots in the most disgusting of Ukraine’s political currents. They see themselves as the political heirs of the Nazi collaborator Stepan Bandera, an anti-communist, anti-Semitic butcher who first did Hitler’s bidding and then went on to be a servant of the CIA. Look at the photos of the turmoil in Keiv and other Ukrainian cities; the portrait of Stepan Bandera shows up again and again. In the Ukraine, the White House and its EU allies are supporting ugly nationalists, who preach hatred against other nationalities, especially Russians, and who will carry out the most reactionary of agendas if they are successful in consolidating power.

Given this reality it is not surprising that the people of Crimea, who are mainly ethnic Russians, voted overwhelmingly to rejoin Russia. They did not want to live under the monsters who roam the halls of government in Kiev. They understand what these vicious chauvinists are all about. After all, one of the first measures passed by Ukraine’s new regime was abolishing the equality of languages.

It is also understandable and just that people in the eastern Ukraine are rising up and attempting to take things in their own hands. They are standing up to fascists and a U.S./EU power grab.

The Ukraine is an important prize for the Western imperialist powers, who covet its natural resources and industries and plan to make use of its strategic location. Their goal is the complete encirclement of Russia. Western powers have prepared a large loan from the International Monetary Fund, and in return, the Kiev authorities are preparing austerity measures that will further impoverish the people, starting with a 50% rise in the price of gasoline on May 1.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the U.S. has systematically expanded its aggressive military alliance, NATO, throughout Eastern Europe and the Baltic states. It has reached the point where Russia is close to being surrounded. Russia’s elite and their political representative Vladimir Putin want to expand their sphere of influence and control. As a result they find themselves being drawn into a conflict with the Western imperial powers.

The U.S. government has no right to complain about the actions of Russia. Its moral authority is less than zero. The U.S. invaded and occupied Iraq and Afghanistan. Along with NATO, it destroyed Libya. It is trying to subjugate Syria and finances the Israeli occupation of Palestine. The list of current U.S. wars and interventions is much longer, but the point is clear enough: Washington DC is the capitol of an empire and those that speak for it are hypocrites and liars.

All progressive people should oppose sanctions on Russia. We have seen this before. Sanctions are a step towards war. Likewise, we need to be clear about how we assess events in the Ukraine. A victory for fascists and their Western backers would be a setback for people everywhere.

Here in the U.S. we are under attack by a system that takes away our jobs, exploits us when we work and thrives on inequality and oppression. Our enemy is right here at home.

End U.S./European Union Intervention in the Ukraine! Stop U.S. Funding for Ukrainian Fascists! No Sanctions on Russia!

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