International Ukraine Anti-Fascist Solidarity: Anti-Fascists or Conspiracy Theorists?

October 04, 2024

International Ukraine Anti-Fascist Solidarity: Anti-Fascists or Conspiracy Theorists?

From Ukraine Solidarity Campaign:

Nearly three years into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and a decade after the war began, a small band of so-called anti-fascists took to the streets of London and Glasgow to demand “no more British arms to Ukraine.”

We say “so-called”, because the “International Ukraine Anti-Fascist Solidarity” demo shared more in common with far-right disinformation merchants and conspiracy theorists than the left-wing workers’ movements that stand with Ukraine against Russian aggression.

The demo was advertised in the Morning Star newspaper, in an advert which demanded “Zelensky must go!”. The optics of a movement that declares itself to be anti-imperialist but calling for regime change in a sovereign state did not seem to matter. This is a group that is happy to parrot Russian disinformation while ignoring Ukrainian voices and lives.

Piers Corbyn – brother of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn – took part in the gathering. He is known for his anti-vaxx conspiracy theories, and has also gained press coverage for rubbing shoulders with the Holocaust denier Nick Kollerstrom.

Analysis by the anti-fascist NGO HOPE not hate notes that Piers Corbyn “has broadened his focus from COVID-19 onto other issues, reflecting a wider shift in the conspiracy theory-oriented protest movement. This includes taking aim at Drag Queen Story Hour events […] and particularly conspiracy theory-driven campaigns against ‘Low Traffic Neighbourhoods’ and Low Emission Zone measures in Oxford, London and other cities.”

Piers Corbyn, they continued “also received press attention after labelling the 7 October Hamas attack in Israel as a ‘false flag operation.’”

Also in attendance was a woman known on X (formerly Twitter) as Gothic Rose Novorossiya. Describing herself as a “humanitarian” who fights “corruption, terrorism and crimes against humanity” and is on the “stop the war team”, Gothic Rose’s feed is a mash-up of dodgy World War Two history, Russian propaganda, and retweets of far-right influencers.

Novorossiya is Russian imperialist name for swathes of Eastern and Southern Ukraine they claim for Russia. While using her X feed to share disinformation that claims Ukrainians are Nazis, Gothic Rose shares posts from far-right figures, including posts praising Italy’s far-right leader Giorgia Meloni, and UK influencer Tommy Robinson – real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon. The Tommy Robinson News Telegram channel regularly shares disinformation about Zelenskiy and Ukraine, including that they praise Nazis and “recruit ISIS terrorists” to fight against Russia in Ukraine.

Gothic Rose shared a post of Russian soldiers burning the Ukraine flag in Vuhledar, in the Donetsk Oblast, and shared a post by an account named “Russia is not the enemy” which featured Putin saying he did what was “right” for Russia. Another retweet was of an account calling Zelenskiy a “snivelling goblin” which has antisemitic overtones.

The demo appears to have evolved from the 2014 organisation “Solidarity with the Anti-fascist Resistance in Ukraine” (SARU) that supported Russia’s invasion of Donbas region. Their activities were amplified by the Young Communist League, which posted plenty of disinformation about Ukrainian Nazis.

While in 2014, Stalinist groups were able to secure a greater platform to denounce Ukraine, since Russia’s full-scale invasion those same elements have struggled to be heard. The majority of left-wing activists and trade unionists recognise that Ukraine is facing a war of aggression fuelled by imperialist aims, and that a truly internationalist left needs to stand with the Ukrainian people against occupation and aggression.

This helps to explain why those who continue to support Russia now find themselves more closely aligned with the far-right, who praise Putin’s stance on human rights, including LGBTQ+ rights and feminism, and want the war in Ukraine to trigger a rolling back of progress and modernity.

Take this post, again from Tommy Robinson News Channel on Telegram, which seems to praise a decision by Putin to offer “sanctuary for foreigners wishing to escape ‘Western liberal ideals’. Putin is offering Westerners a chance to escape the neoliberal globalist West, and seek safe haven in Russia with their ‘traditional spiritual and moral values’.”

Anti-fascists promoting fascists? That’s the reality of this small movement which claims to be anti-war, while ignoring, and even actively celebrating, Russian violence and imperialism.

Questions need to be asked then, on how a pro-Putin movement with ties to known conspiracy theorists, and members who enthusiastically amplify far-right content, was able to advertise its demo in the Morning Star. At the same time, those leftists who align with Russia need to ask themselves: if you stand against imperialist aggression and fascism, why will you not stand with Ukraine? Why instead are you standing with fascists?