March 3, 2025 editorial of the New Anticapitalist Party-Revolutionaries (NPA-R) in France, translated from French
With their usual vulgarity and thuggish brutality, Donald Trump and his vice-president, J.D. Vance, gave a fine lesson in imperialism on world television. Faced with Ukrainian leader Zelenskyy, not docile enough in their eyes, they raised their tone, believing they had all the “cards” in their hands.
Since his return to power, Trump has touted his desire to impose U.S. power on the world. Showering Putin with congratulations, he intends to participate with him in the dismemberment of Ukraine. The lands conquered at the cost of hundreds of thousands of deaths would go to Putin, while U.S. trusts would claim the minerals of the rest of the country. Never mind the fate of the peoples in this carve-up between great powers! And when Zelenskyy dares to demand guarantees that the conquest war Putin launched will not resume the moment the chance arises, Trump is the one who reminds him that he is nothing in the face of the mighty and in no position to make demands.
European countries try to get a seat at the table / steal a piece of the cake for themselves
Sidelined by their American overseer, European leaders are in disarray. Consultations are multiplying. They held a European summit with Kyiv this Sunday in London, and an extraordinary European Council in Brussels on Thursday, March 6. However, European leaders have nothing more to offer the Ukrainian people. Above all, they want to get their piece of the pie. French Minister of Defense Sébastien Lecornu announced on Thursday, February 27, that he wanted, like Trump, to conclude an agreement on minerals with Kiev.
From British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, to Giorgia Meloni, the far-right Italian Premier and vocal Trump admirer, all of them display, despite their divisions, the common desire to increase military and armament spending even more. In doing so, they claim we should now defend “ourselves” in the wake of the USA’s disengagement in Europe. As if we could trust them with that, when they have done nothing but attack the working class, day in and day out. Who can believe that [French president] Macron, the president of the rich, posing as Europe’s defense leader and calling out to “buy European,” has anything other than the interests of French arms industry corporations in mind – Airbus, Thales, Safran, Dassault…
The billionaires and exploiters are united: workers must fight back with a coalition of their own
Trump, Macron, Putin and their cronies are building a world of unemployment and misery. And war.
In Ukraine, there is deep anger, not only against Putin, but also against Zelenskyy, who has facilitated layoffs and closed many public services, while a number of Ukrainian bosses have multiplied their profits. And anger against the leaders of the imperialist world who couldn’t care less about the people’s fate.
Every declaration of war, and especially every increase in military spending, increases the likelihood of war, and actually brings us closer to it. This is the risk we run if we give free rein to the capitalists and the heads of state at their service. No solution will come from them, nor from those who follow in their wake, as Zelenskyy has done by aligning himself totally behind big Western powers.
Against the growing militarization of society, against imperialist rivalries, what we need is the unity of all workers, exploited and oppressed, to put an end to this system!
