Stop the War coalition, Newsletter 26.5.23

Newsletter – 26/05/23

Downing Street Hand-In

Next Wednesday (31 May) we’ll be handing in the following letter to No. 10 Downing Street calling for peace and negotiations in Ukraine. Please come and join us on Whitehall from 4pm as we call for #PeaceNow!

The war in Ukraine has raged for over a year at great cost to the Ukrainian people and leading to greater instability worldwide. The urgent need is for a ceasefire and peace talks. We oppose the UK government’s plans to provide long range cruise missiles, drones and fighter plane training to the Ukrainian military. 

The Tory government is leading the West’s effort to escalate the war in Ukraine. If delivered, these will be the first long range missiles any government has sent to Ukraine. Britain has more special forces in Ukraine than any other country in a war it claims not to be involved in.

These actions will only prolong the war and the suffering of the Ukrainian people, and they risk a wider, potentially nuclear, confrontation with Russia. Even senior US foreign policy figures admit there is no prospect of an all-out victory for either side.

We endorse the views of the recent letter in the New York Times, where former diplomats and military figures argued that this is not a war that can be won and peace is a necessity now:

“The immediate cause of this disastrous war in Ukraine is Russia’s invasion. Yet the plans and actions to expand NATO to Russia’s borders served to provoke Russian fears. And Russian leaders made this point for 30 years. A failure of diplomacy led to war. Now diplomacy is urgently needed to end the Russia-Ukraine War before it destroys Ukraine and endangers humanity.”

Rather than fanning the flames of war, our government should be backing growing international calls for peace negotiations and demanding a ceasefire and end to hostilities.

Meetings in Glasgow, Liverpool & Leeds

We’ve got three important public meetings coming up next week in Glasgow, Liverpool and Leeds. They are all free and open to the public so make sure you get along to them if you’re in those cities. Full details below.

Sat 27 May  Glasgow  UCU Conference Fringe Meeting – The World at War: A Trade Union Issue

Thurs 1 June - Leeds  Stop the War in Ukraine: Peace Talks Now

Also, make sure you email us at [email protected] if you’ve got any plans for a local event.

Will the New Cold War Turn Hot?

A week ago the G7 sat down to point the finger at China’s “economic coercion” in a barrage of confrontational rhetoric against Beijing designed to clear the path for escalating hostilities. 

Tensions between the West and China are growing by the day. Senior Western military figures are predicting war with China over Taiwan as soon as 2025. The US is threatened by China’s growing economic power and influence, and key players are pushing for decisive action before China fully rearms.

Last night, Jenny Clegg, a China specialist and former senior lecturer in Asia Pacific studies, sat down to discuss the causes and consequences of this dangerous escalation with Stop the War’s Vice Chair Chris Nineham. Watch it back below.

This Week’s Anti-War Briefing