Revolt spreads in eastern Ukraine

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The conflict in Ukraine has greatly escalated in recent days, as open re­ volt against the right-wing govern­ ment in Kiev sweeps through the eastern and southern sections of the country. Protesters state that they are trying to protect the Russianspeaking population from discrimi­ nation and fascist attacks. Many call for autonomy for their region, while others say they are seeking to secede from Ukraine and to join Russia—as Crimea did following its March 16 referendum.

Unemployment and falling living standards are also fueling the revolt, just as it did for many of the people who joined the demonstrations in Kiev’s Independence (“Maidan”)

Square at the beginning of the year under the illusion that prosperity would arrive with an orientation to­ ward the European Union.

The U.S.-dominated Internation­ al Monetary Fund warns that the Ukraine economy faces a 5 percent contraction in 2014—even though the IMF has granted a $17 billion loan to the country over two years.

Most of the funds from the IMF will go to paying back the Ukraine’s cred­ itors—including $5 billion already owed to the IMF. In return for their loans, the Western imperialists are demanding drastic austerity mea­ sures aimed at the country’s working class. The cur­ rent Ukrainian regime has already raised natural gas prices by 50 percent.

The ruling group in Kiev came to power in Febru­ ary in a coup that was closely supported by Wash­ ington. The new government was ushered into office after fascist and ultra-right forces effectively took the leadership of the Maidan protest. State Department Undersecretary Victoria Nuland admitted last Decem­ ber that the U.S. had poured some $5 billion into the country in attempts to destabilize and overthrow the previous regime; U.S. officials later handpicked the new prime minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk. The ruling group hopes to consolidate and legitimatize its power through presidential elections, which are scheduled for May 25.

In recent weeks, at least 600 battle-ready U.S. troops have been airlifted into neighboring Poland and into the Baltic States, and U.S. warships have been sent to the Black Sea. These moves signal the possibility of armed intervention, as leaders of the coup govern­ ment in Kiev steadily beat the drums for war with Russia.

Although Russia has threatened to militarily in­ tervene if the Russian-speaking population of the Ukraine is in danger, it would be hard pressed to coun­ ter a full-scale offensive by the U.S. and its NATO allies. No doubt with this in mind, Russian officials have in­ (Above) People hold back an armored vehicle during Ukrainian army advance on Slovansk.

dicated a preference for international talks leading toward establishment of a federal republic in Ukraine, with great­ er autonomy for the eastern region and guaranteed protections for Russian speakers. And in a conciliatory move, on May 8 Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he was pulling troops back from the Ukrainian border, and that he backed the call for elections on May 25.

As we go to press, battles are raging in several cities. In Slovyansk, a city of 120,000 in the Donbas industrial belt, Ukrainian army troops, reportedly augmented by neo-Nazi Right Sector forces, have been trying to dislodge protesters who had seized govern­ ment buildings and constructed de­ fensive barricades in the streets. At the same time, the Kiev regime has sent a unit from its newly created National Guard—which incorporates Right Sec­ tor and other “Maidan” paramilitary units—to attempt to establish control of the country’s major port city, Odessa.

Vasyl Krutov, who serves as “anti-terrorism” minis­ ter for the ruling group in Kiev, has declared that the current military push “is not a short-term action. This is essentially a war.” The stakes are high since it would be catastrophic for the Kiev regime to give up its Black NY Daily News via Twitter Sea port facilities and its industrial heartland in the east. The International Monetary Fund has threat­ ened to cancel and renegotiate its loans to Kiev if the pro-Western regime loses control of those areas.

So far, the Kiev government’s “war” has met strong resistance, and the advance of its army has been slow.

(continued on page 11, in “The fight to defend public education”)

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May 1 in New York City: Tony Savino / Socialist Action

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