Russian Communists Call for Anti-fascist Front Against ‘Nato-led Nazification of Ukraine'’

Civilians study weapons during a training session by Ukrainian right-wing group Right Sector in a city park in Kyiv, Ukraine

by Steve Sweeney International editor Morning Star, UK

RUSSIAN communists called for a united anti-fascist front against the Nato-led “nazification of Ukraine” as Western leaders gathered in Munich to discuss the escalating crisis in the Donbass region over the weekend.

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation repeated its assertion that the aim of Washington and Britain is “not only the final enslavement of Ukraine and the bleeding of Russia.”

They are also “implementing a project to undermine the economic potential of the European Union and reduce its influence in the modern world,” according to a central committee statement.

“The war in the centre of Europe, the forced sanctions against Russia, the fall in economic activity in the EU will ensure an increase in the competitive capabilities of the United States,” it claimed.

Nato’s eastward expansion and the drive to war with Ukraine has divided some of its member states, most notably France which remains angry over its treatment in the Aukus security deal between Britain, the US and Australia.

Germany, which is also the final destination of Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline, has also adopted a more cautious approach, initially refusing to send weapons to Ukraine with Chancellor Olaf Scholz calling for diplomacy.

As tensions escalate Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned of a “genocide” in the Donbass region as its citizens began a mass evacuation.

Explosions in the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics are blamed by them on Ukrainian forces, which include neonazi units and mercenaries, but Western governments have claimed they are “false flag” operations staged by Russia-backed separatists.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson reiterated his support for Ukraine and told world leaders that it was time to “wean ourselves off dependence on Putin’s oil and gas.”

And he insisted that Nato would continue its eastward expansion, having admitted 14 new countries since 1999, a clear breach of agreements made with Russia.

But the CPRF warned that capitalist powers in the US and Europe were “ready to contribute bloodshed and aggression” in the region as they promote fascism in Ukraine.

“In the middle of the last century, humanity paid for such a policy with millions of victims. The Soviet people alone lost 27 million lives of their sons and daughters in the fight against fascism,” it said.

It said there is no point in dialogue with “the heirs of Bandera and Shukhevych” — former fascist leaders celebrated by the Ukrainian government.

Emergency measures were necessary including the evacuation of women, children and the elderly and for Mr Putin to recognise both the separatist Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics as independent states, the CPRF said.

It also called for “a decisive political offensive” against the rehabilitation of fascism and for support from global anti-fascist and anti-war movements.

"It is time for everyone to realise that the mechanisms of democracy in Ukraine have been abolished. After the coup d’etat of 2014, the real politics on its territory is increasingly dictated by aggressive nationalist gangs,” the party said.

“The task of denazification of Ukraine should become the most important concern of the world community.”