The Russian capitalist bosses have invaded Ukraine. It’s impossible to know how this war will ultimately play out, but we do know that small wars can lead to larger wars, particularly in volatile times. The war in the Ukraine is a nightmare brought about by the rivalry among the U.S., Russian, and Chinese capitalist rulers. There are no good sides among these imperialist butchers. Our class, the working class, must take on all bosses. We must turn the imperialists’ wars for profit into war to liberate our class with communist revolution.
As the old liberal world order disintegrates, capitalism has come to be defined by constant invasions and wars--from the Middle East, where the big imperialists have fought to control the region’s oil, to Africa, where capitalists big and small compete for control of vital resources.
U.S. and Russian bosses murder the working class
The racism of the U.S. and European bosses focuses the world on the war in Ukraine. U.S. and European reporters visibly express concern for people in Ukraine while the daily death rained down by U.S. imperialism on the working class in the Middle East is normalized and blamed on the victims (LA Times, 3/1). But on the scale of workers murdered for bosses’ power, the invasion of Ukraine is more the same than different from the invasions of Iraq or Afghanistan by the U.S. bosses. Putin is no different than the Bushes, Barack Obama or Bill Clinton in his willingness to slaughter workers for their billionaire masters.  While the cluster bombing of civilians in Ukraine exposes the Russian bosses (once again) as war criminals, the U.S. is unmatched for the callous slaughter of workers and children.
 Since 2001, the U.S. bosses have dropped 326,000 bombs and missiles on the working class in the Middle East. (Australian National Review, 2/28). Clinton’s Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, infamously stated that the killing of 500,000 Iraqi children by U.S. sanctions “was worth it”(Salon, 5/11/16).
Over 500,000 people have been killed directly by weapons in the U.S. invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. The number of deaths from starvation, illness and lack of medical care is far greater than that. (U.S. News, 9/10/21). All this brings the holocaust of workers in Iraq and Afghanistan committed by the U.S. bosses to over 1.5 million people.  If Putin is supposed to be “unhinged” (Business Insider, 2/28) what does that make  Clinton or Albright or Obama?  
 Smash imperialism with communist revolution
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was triggered by the U.S. bosses’ expanding NATO to Russia’s front door. Seeing the U.S. empire declining, the Russian bosses are pushing back.  The U.S. bosses, while weakening, are not without power. They have gotten the European bosses to join with them in economic sanctions against Russia that is sharpening the conflict. The result is a situation where direct war between the imperialists is becoming more likely. Since both sides have nuclear weapons, nuclear war becomes a possibility as well.
Beyond the U.S and Europe, the Chinese bosses, having given tacit approval to Russia’s invasion, are also getting ready for bigger war. One possible outcome is that Russia is economically and militarily pushed even closer to China. That would give the Chinese ruling class an advantage as they prepare for war with the U.S.
This is the nature of inter-imperialist rivalry. Nation states and capitalism are killing our class. We must get rid of capitalism and a society based on nations. We are one class around the globe; it only benefits the bosses when we are divided. We must not be misled or deceived by the capitalists’ calls for “freedom” or “democracy.” Whether “democracies” or “autocracies,” all countries in the world today are capitalist dictatorships. The current government of Ukraine, being hailed by the U.S press as a bastion of democracy, came to power by the U.S overthrowing a democratically elected pro-Russian government. In that coup the U.S. bosses partnered with pro-U.S. avowed Ukranian Nazis(Guardian, 4/30/14). That’s why the current Ukrainian military has openly Nazi units(OpIndia, 2/28). The racism of the Ukrainian ruling class was on full display as Black students trying to leave the country were beaten by Ukrainian soldiers and not allowed on trains(NY Times,  3/2).
In this period, where capitalism is descending into a new level of hell, it is imperative for our class and our Progressive Labor Party to forge a new way forward by smashing the rotten profit system with communist revolution. While changing the course of imperialist war is a monumental task, it is something our class has done before. We must attack head-on the nationalism and racism being spread among our class by the bosses. The working class in Russia is showing bravery by protesting the latest inter-imperialist conflict in the streets. The same cannot be said for our class in the United States and Europe, where large numbers have fallen in line with U.S. imperialism and the U.S. rulers’ slogans supporting the Ukrainian bosses. To protest the Russian bosses’ war in Ukraine without attacking and exposing U.S. imperialism is a racist denial of the mass murder in the Middle East and around the world. Most dangerous of all, it misleads workers to support the U.S. bosses’ attempts to prepare for the next world war. In everything we do, we must be clear that the only way out of this nightmare is to build a revolutionary communist movement of the working class that smashes capitalism with workers’ power.