30 years after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the overthrow of socialism, which many hailed because it would supposedly make the world more "peaceful" and "safe", one more imperialist war broke out in European territory, after the war in Yugoslavia and elsewhere.

The formal beginning of the war is the despicable Russian military intervention and invasion of Ukraine; however, the region has been sitting on a powder keg for many years now.

Irrespective of the pretexts used by both sides, the military conflict in Ukraine is the result of the sharpening of competition between the two warring camps, primarily focused on spheres of influence, market shares, raw materials, energy plans and transport routes; competition which can no longer be resolved by diplomatic–political means and fragile compromises.

On the one hand, there is the USA, NATO, and the EU which support the reactionary government of Kyiv, the paramilitary mechanisms, and the fascist groups in Ukraine and for years have been promoting their positions (NATO enlargement with Eastern European countries, missile defence shield, etc) aiming at the economic, political, and military encirclement of Russia.

On the other hand, there is capitalist Russia which is promoting its own plans for the capitalist unification of the former USSR countries and in the past years has proceeded to the annexation of Crimea to the Russian Federation and the recent recognition of the "independence" of the so-called "People's Republics" in Donetsk and Luhansk.

This is a confirmation that war is the continuation of the same policy with other, violent means. It is proof that imperialist war, as well as the death and destruction it causes, inevitably stems from capitalist competition.

The military confrontation is taking place between two countries, Russia and Ukraine, whose peoples had been living in friendship and thriving in peace for decades under socialism. Both sides are trying to erase this historical memory of both peoples, using anti-communism and anti-Sovietism. However, history cannot be erased. On the contrary, it is proved that the way out lies in the conflict with the capitalist system, which gives rise to poverty and war. This is the alternative path that those and all peoples must follow today.

The current military confrontation is now leading to a military conflict of unpredictable dimensions, much more now that it is linked with a general confrontation (among USA, EU, China, Russia, etc) over supremacy in the imperialist system. The peoples of the countries involved will be once again the victims as the economic and geopolitical repercussions of this conflict affect the peoples around the world.

Greece is actively participating in this imperialist competition aiming at the geostrategic enhancement of the Greek bourgeoisie, which is nothing more than its participation in the looting and the redistribution of the pie taking place through new crimes against the peoples.

The Greek governments of ND, PASOK, and SYRIZA have backed all NATO decisions and plans regarding the expansion of this murderous organization and the encirclement of Russia. They initiated the installation of new US–NATO bases in our country, such as that of Alexandroupolis, which has become a hub for the transfer and deployment of military forces to Eastern Europe. Our country, thus, becomes a perpetrator against other peoples but at the same time, it can become a victim since it automatically becomes the target of possible retaliation as Russia has already warned about Alexandroupolis and other military bases, while it is already paying a heavy price due to high prices, rising fuel prices, energy poverty, and armaments. Among other things, it increases the Turkish bourgeoisie's appetite for its unacceptable claims on the Aegean and the Cyprus Issue.

Allying ourselves with one or another imperialist pole cannot be a response to our people's interests. The dilemma is not between USA and Russia or NATO and Russia. The workers'–people's struggle must chart its own independent line away from all bourgeois and imperialist plans.

In the face of the new crime, our response can only be one: Down with imperialist war. Only the peoples can condemn the bourgeois classes and governments of their countries, which lead to their massacre in Ukraine, Russia, and everywhere. Greece's participation and involvement must immediately stop. US–NATO military bases in our country must be immediately closed down. The struggle for disengagement from the imperialist unions of NATO and the EU must strengthen, the people must be masters in their land.

24.02.2022