What is this?
This is a collection of sources related to the war in Ukraine, mainly focusing on the context leading up to Russia’s escalation in 2022. It consists primarily of Western media articles, as well as articles using Western media to point out contradictions. This is far from being finished and will be updated sporadically.
This thread is being written for those who are already somewhat aware of, and opposed to, US imperialism.
Context for the 2022 escalation
In 2014, the US supported a fascist coup in Ukraine.
- Reuters, 2014: Leaked audio reveals embarrassing U.S. exchange on Ukraine, EU. BBC, 2014: Ukraine crisis: Transcript of leaked Nuland-Pyatt call. Audio.
Ukraine has a long history of Nazism.
- BBC, 2014: Ukraine underplays role of far right in conflict
- Human Rights Watch, 2014: Ukraine: Unguided Rockets Killing Civilians
- The Hill, 2017: The reality of neo-Nazis in Ukraine is far from Kremlin propaganda
- The Guardian, 2017: ‘I want to bring up a warrior’: Ukraine’s far-right children’s camp – video
- The Washington Post, 2018: The war in Ukraine is more devastating than you know
- Reuters, 2018: Ukraine’s neo-Nazi problem
- The Nation, 2019: Neo-Nazis and the Far Right Are On the March in Ukraine
- openDemocracy, 2019: Why Ukraine’s new language law will have long-term consequences
- Al Jazeera, 2022: Why did Ukraine suspend 11 ‘pro-Russia’ parties?
NATO has been expanding toward Russia, despite assurances when East and West Germany were reunited.
- In 2008, the US declares their intention to integrate Ukraine and Georgia into NATO, despite the Russian government’s warnings the year prior.
- The George Washington University, 2017: NATO Expansion: What Gorbachev Heard
- In 2001, the US leaves the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and starts placing nuclear-capable missiles closer and closer to Russia. The EurAsian Times, 2021: ANALYSIS: US Withdrawal From Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty Continues To Haunt World 20 Years Later
- United World International, 2022: NATO’s pledges in documents not to expand eastward
NATO has been refusing to abide by agreements, and despite being elected on a peace platform, the Zelensky government has consistently escalated tensions.
- Orinoco Tribune, 2022: Former German Chancellor Merkel Admits that Minsk Peace Agreements Were Part of Scheme for Ukraine to Buy Time to Prepare for War With Russia
- Al Mayadeen, 2023: Zelensky admits he never intended to implement Minsk agreements
Additional sources:
- Various videos and articles on Geopolitical Economy Report
Sources contributed by:
Donbass (2016) - War documentary by Anne-Laure Bonnel. (TankieTube, Internet Archive) - A French director goes to Donbas region, showing the state of things as it is being bombed, interviewing people in bomb shelters, hospitals, on the street, etc. CW: Graphic scenes, deaths/injuries shown.
Articles/videos by Geopolitical Economy Report. He has several articles/videos worth checking out, but I’ll just list two:
“West prepares to plunder post-war Ukraine with neoliberal shock therapy: privatization, deregulation, slashing worker protections” - “… starting in 2017, representatives of Western governments and corporations quietly held annual conferences in which they discussed ways to profit from the civil war they were fueling in Ukraine. In these meetings, Western political and business leaders outlined a series of aggressive right-wing reforms they hoped to impose on Ukraine, including widespread privatization of state-owned industries and deregulation of the economy.”
“CBS censors its own report on Ukraine weapons corruption” - “Under Ukrainian government pressure, CBS News censored its own documentary “Arming Ukraine,” which showed that just around 30% of the weapons Western governments have sent actually go to the frontlines, with widespread corruption and black markets.”
“The Nulands: A family business of perpetual war” - Article about the role of Victoria Nuland and husband Robert Kagan within the military-industrial complex as well as going into detail on Nuland’s career and involvement in Ukraine. “Neoconservative pundit Robert Kagan and his wife, Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, run a remarkable family business: she has sparked a hot war in Ukraine and helped launch Cold War II with Russia – and he steps in to demand that Congress jack up military spending so America can meet these new security threats.”
On Reinhard Gehlen, the CIA, and NATO: “The CIA’s Worst-Kept Secret: Newly Declassified Files Confirm United States Collaboration with Nazis” - "The CIA reports show that U.S. officials knew they were subsidizing numerous Third Reich veterans who had committed horrible crimes against humanity, but these atrocities were overlooked as the anti-Communist crusade acquired its own momentum. … Bolted lock, stock, and barrel into the CIA, Gehlen’s Nazi-infested spy apparatus functioned as America’s secret eyes and ears in central Europe. The Org would go on to play a major role within NATO, supplying two-thirds of raw intelligence on the Warsaw Pact countries. Under CIA auspices, and later as head of the West German secret service until he retired in 1968, Gehlen exerted considerable influence on U.S. policy toward the Soviet bloc. "
“U.S. Built NATO By Putting Nazi War Criminals in Charge” - Not a bourgeois source as this is on the page of a communist party, but it’s basically just a list of several Nazis who got positions in NATO.