Letter to some anti-Ukraine solidarity activists

3 10 2023

Here’s what I just sent to Bread & Puppet Theatre, which is preparing to appear alongside a group of others protesting U.S. military support for Ukraine, in Burlington, Vermont, tomorrow. The group organizing this event is small and not very consequential, but Bread & Puppet’s participation, or at least that of some of their members, is troubling. While I agree with their views in favor of negotiation and diplomacy to end the war, I disagree that it’s the U.S. that needs to be pressured into negotiation and diplomacy. It is Russia that needs far more pressure to end its invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine, as the victim, needs support. (Note that the list of links is taken from the right-hand sidebar of this blog. I welcome your suggestions for other links to be added there.)

Dear Bread & Puppeteers:

Please do not stand AGAINST the Ukrainian victims of Russian aggression. Please don’t contribute to the continued genocide of Ukrainians. 

Putin’s stated goal of reconstituting “Greater Russia” and eliminating the existence of an independent Ukraine is a neo-imperialist project with fascist and genocidal implications. 

By opposing US support for Ukraine, Bread & Puppet is effectively following the Putinist strategy of dividing and conquering. It undercuts any international movement toward democracy, rule of law, and sustainable peace. It blames victims instead of aggressors. This goes against the longstanding goals of the international democratic Left and plays into the hands of the Far Right – which is why your allies are MAGA Trumpists like Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz, Lauren Boebert, Paul Gosar, Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham, Steve Bannon, et al., as well as pro-Putinist far-right leaders like Viktor Orban, Slovakia’s newly elected president Fico, and others. Your alliance with the global Far Right discredits everything Bread & Puppet has stood for, for decades. 

Please reconsider. Once Russia stops its aggression, negotiation can become possible. For now, Ukrainians need support. 

For further information on why solidarity with Ukraine is the right thing to do, please see

War & Peace Statements:

Related Sites & Resources:

Sincerely, Adrian Ivakhiv

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