Ukraine Solidarity Network Mission Statement

 

THE UKRAINE SOLIDARITY NETWORK (U.S.) reaches out to unions,  communities and individuals from diverse backgrounds to build moral,  political and material support for the people of Ukraine in their resistance to  Russia’s criminal invasion and their struggle for an independent, egalitarian  and democratic country.

The war against Ukraine is a horrible and destructive disaster in the human  suffering and economic devastation it has already caused, not only for  Ukraine and its people but also in its impact on global hunger and energy  supplies, on the world environmental crisis, and on the lives of ordinary  Russian people who are sacrificed for Putin’s war. The war also carries the  risk of escalation to a direct confrontation among military great powers, with  unthinkable possible consequences.

It is urgent to end this war as soon as possible. This can only be achieved  through the success of Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s invasion. Ukraine  is fighting a legitimate war of self-defense, indeed a war for its survival as a  nation. Calling for “peace” in the abstract is meaningless in these circumstances.

The Ukraine Solidarity Network (U.S.) supports Ukraine’s war of resistance,  its right to determine the means and objectives of its own struggle – and we  support its right to obtain the weapons it needs from any available source.  We are united in our support for Ukraine’s people, their military and civilian defense against aggression, and for the reconstruction of the country in the interests of the majority of its population. We stand in opposition to all  domination by powerful nations and states, including by the United States  and its allies, over smaller ones and oppressed peoples.

We uphold the following principles and goals:

1) We strive for a world free of global power domination at the expense of  smaller nations. We oppose war and authoritarianism no matter which state  it comes from, and support the right of self-determination and self-defense  for any oppressed nation.

2) We support Ukraine’s victory against the Russian invasion, and its right  to reparations to meet the costs of reconstruction after the colossal  destruction it is suffering.

3) The reconstruction of Ukraine also demands the cancellation of its debts  to international financial institutions. Aid to Ukraine must come without  strings attached, above all without crushing debt burdens.

4) We recognize the suffering that this war imposes on people in Russia,  most intensely on the ethnic and religious minority sectors of the Russian  Federation which are disproportionately impacted by forced military  conscription. We salute the brave Russian antiwar forces speaking out and  demonstrating in the face of severe repression, and we are encouraged by  the popular resistance to the draft of soldiers to become cannon fodder for  Putin’s unjust war of aggression.

5) We seek to build connections to progressive organizations and  movements in Ukraine and with the labor movement, which represents the  biggest part of Ukrainian civil society, and to link Ukrainian civic  organizations, marginalized communities and trade unions with counterpart organizations in the United States. We support Ukrainian struggles for  ensuring just and fair labor rights for its population, especially during the  war, as there are no military reasons to implement laws that threaten the  social rights of Ukrainians, including those who are fighting in the front  lines.