Supporting Russia Won’t Defeat U.S. Imperialism

10 October 2025

Hi,

If you want to present a serious argument on the issue, that would be fine, and I can respond.

Those who oppose the US war in Ukraine are not “Russia supporters.” We oppose U.S./NATO aggression against Russia. That is the issue, not “supporting Russia.”

The parts of Ukraine that Russia is annexing voted to separate from Ukraine to be independent or voted to become part of Russia. That is their democratic right. I would assume you know about the votes and I would assume you recognize their democratic right to separate. We think all people should support these former parts of Ukraine right to act on their self-determination. You call that putting them in “Russian chains?”

You say “U.S. imperialism must be defeated, but not every blow to U.S. imperialism is progressive. In order for it to be progressive, the international proletariat must come out on the other end in a better position to bring down the imperialist order.” Then you say, without providing any substantiation, “A Russian victory in Ukraine would do nothing of the sort.”

The war in Ukraine is U.S./NATO vs. Russia. A defeat for U.S./NATO is a victory for all forces opposing the U.S. empire. That is made clear by the number of countries, mostly progressive ones, that defend Russia in the war, and the many that do not defend U.S./NATO. A defeat for the U.S. would be a great victory for that block of countries the U.S. empire sees as enemies, as targets.

You say a Russian victory “would be a setback to the U.S., no doubt.” To be clear, you are saying a defeat or setback for the U.S. empire doesn’t mean it is progressive. So according to you, we can be neutral in some U.S. war on another country? You really want to say that? Do you think breaking free of U.S. imperialism in one part of the world does not open the door for other countries to try the same in some way? That is not progressive? You are saying a weakening of the U.S. empire does not mean this is a good thing.

Russia has not “devastated” Ukraine. U.S./Israel devastated Gaza. If Russia wanted to devastate Ukraine, it could. But so far it hasn’t. Who created the situation in Ukraine? U.S. imperialism did. They organized the coup in 2014, they started the war on the Russian Ukrainians in eastern Ukraine, they continued the war when Russia made a peace agreement in 2022. Why are you blaming Russia for what U.S. imperialism has done?

Russian self-determination was not a question? The U.S. has been explicit for years, before the war, on militarily surrounding, threatening, and dividing up Russia, like U.S. also has been aiming to do with China. It has been explicit about removing the elected government of Russia. And you want to say that has nothing to do with trying to deny Russian self-determination?

Thanks,
Stan

WV replies: We agree that the issue at hand is the need to oppose U.S./NATO aggression and defend oppressed countries trying to break free of the U.S. empire. The difference between us is how to achieve these goals. In the Russia-Ukraine war, your starting point is to look to Russian military might to weaken U.S. imperialism. Ours is to place the Ukrainian and Russian working classes in the best position possible to challenge imperialism and overthrow both the pro-imperialist Ukrainian rulers and the Russian oligarchs. The workers have the power and interest to force a peace that safeguards the national interests of both nations, but your letter doesn’t breathe a word about the working class.

You argue that the Russian war effort is an act of self-defense, claiming that the U.S. has been explicit about violating Russia’s self-determination, dividing it up and removing its elected government. But at no point in the war have U.S. forces breached Russia’s national borders or threatened its independence. To the contrary, Trump is not pushing regime change in Moscow, but rather giving Putin a green light to dismember Ukraine. Russian forces are bombing apartment buildings in Kyiv and massacring Ukrainian civilians in towns hundreds of miles from the front, yet you still maintain that Russia is not devastating Ukraine! You also don’t acknowledge Putin’s oft-repeated goal of annexing Ukrainian territory. As he declared in June: “I have said many times that the Russian and Ukrainian people are one nation, in fact. In this sense, all of Ukraine is ours.”

If the war were about the self-determination for Russians in the Donbass, Russia’s military intervention would have a very different, and entirely supportable, character. But that is not the case. Russia is moving to annex Ukrainian lands well beyond that region, inflaming national chauvinism in the Ukrainian population. At the same time, the war has intensified nationalism on the Russian side, helping to weld Russian workers to their rulers and driving a wedge between them and the Ukrainian workers. Under the current circumstances, a Russian victory will rob Ukrainians of their national independence.

You insist that the war in Ukraine is between U.S./NATO imperialism and Russia. However, the U.S. is not fighting on the ground in Ukraine. The conflict pits Ukrainian against Russian, not Russian against American soldiers. Despite Russia’s battlefield gains, the U.S. has not suffered the kind of destabilization that would result if the sons and daughters of the U.S. working class were coming home in body bags, as happened in the Vietnam War.

That’s just one reason why a Russian victory would not substantially weaken the U.S. empire, as you claim. While the U.S. has failed in its original aim of arming Ukraine to weaken Russia, Trump is not escalating, but moving to cut his losses because U.S. imperialism does not have vital interests in Ukraine. This will facilitate the U.S. drive to build up its military forces elsewhere—from Latin America to Asia. At the same time, Trump is preparing to steal Ukrainian mineral assets, regardless of a Russian victory.

You portray a Russian triumph as progressive. But Putin’s objective is not to challenge U.S. world domination, but rather to extend Russia’s reach as a regional power and bulwark of reaction in Europe. And are Russia’s military gains a great victory for countries in Washington’s crosshairs? Take the case of Iran. Iran has stood by Russia in the war and supplied it with drone technology, but what has Iran gained from this? Neither Russia’s battlefield victories nor Iran’s military support deterred the U.S. and Israel from bombing Iran last June. In the face of this onslaught, Russia didn’t lift a finger to defend Iran, preferring instead to cut deals with Trump. This is proof enough that Russia is not playing a progressive role in world affairs.

Ever since the U.S./NATO imperialists provoked the war, we have called on the workers here to oppose arms shipments to the Ukrainian forces and fought to unite the Russian and Ukrainian working classes to advance the cause of social and national liberation for both nations. If the Ukrainian and Russian armies were to fraternize and turn their weapons against their own leaders—admittedly a remote prospect at present—the resulting echo of class solidarity could resound throughout Europe, where mass discontent runs deep. In Poland and the Baltic countries, with their past history of brutal Russian domination, unity of Ukrainian and Russian workers would help erode anti-Russian sentiments and break the workers from illusions in imperialism. This is anything but the neutrality you accuse us of. It is the only way to weaken and destroy the U.S. imperialist empire to emancipate all of humanity.