Skip to main content
Donate to the 95 years appeal
Ukraine and the lessons of ‘bloc politics’
The major powers need to accept that attempts at domination over others will lead to perpetual instability and bloodshed. JOHN WIGHT examines the historical record
DEVASTATION: A destroyed apartment house after Russian shelling in a residential area of Chuhuiv, Kharkiv region, Ukraine

“SO FOUL a sky clears not without a storm” – William Shakespeare.

The conflict in Ukraine marks a major inflection point in human affairs, developing as it has into a proxy conflict between a resurgent Russia and a Washington-led Western ideological bloc whose global hegemony is being challenged as never before.

When it comes to the situation on the ground, Russia’s military campaign is currently focused on taking control of the entire Donbass, made up of the Donetsk and Lugansk oblasts. 

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
American boxer Mike Tyson (left) throws a punch at Briton's Julius Francis, during their heavyweight fight at the MEN Arena, Manchester
Men’s Boxing / 16 August 2025
16 August 2025

In recently published book Baddest Man, Mark Kriegel revisits the Faustian pact at the heart of Mike Tyson’s rise and the emotional fallout that followed, writes JOHN WIGHT

The Atomic Bomb Dome is seen on July 10, 2025, in Hiroshima, western Japan
Features / 9 August 2025
9 August 2025

As we mark the anniversaries of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, JOHN WIGHT reflects on the enormity of the US decision to drop the atom bombs

Josh Taylor, May 25, 2024
Men’s boxing / 1 August 2025
1 August 2025

From humble beginnings to becoming the undisputed super lightweight champion of the world, Josh Taylor’s career was marked by fire, ferocity, and national pride, writes JOHN WIGHT

Northern Ireland's Kristina O'Hara (left) in action against India's MC Mery Kom at Oxenford Studios during day ten of the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast, Australia
Women’s boxing / 18 July 2025
18 July 2025

Mary Kom’s fists made history in the boxing world. Malak Mesleh’s never got the chance. One story ends in glory, the other in grief — but both highlight the defiance of women who dare to fight, writes JOHN WIGHT

Similar stories
MARCHING EAST: German soldiers march at the formal inauguration of a German brigade for Nato’s eastern flank Lithuania, Thursday May 22
Features / 29 May 2025
29 May 2025

In the first half of a two-part article, PETER MERTENS looks at how Nato’s €800 billion ‘Readiness 2030’ plan serves Washington’s pivot to the Pacific, forcing Europeans to dismantle social security and slash pensions to fund it

THE OTHER UKRAINE: The Saur-Mogila Soviet memorial near the city of Snizhne in Donetsk Oblast has been massively expanded in Soviet style, while in other parts of the country, Soviet statues were torn down
War / 13 May 2025
13 May 2025

As Britain marks 80 years since defeating fascism, it finds itself in a proxy war against Russia over Ukraine — DANIEL POWELL examines Churchill’s secret plan to attack our Soviet allies in 1945 and traces how Nato expansion, a Western-backed coup and neo-nazi activism contributed to todays' devastating conflict

A NEW ERA BEGINS: The Ambassador-designate of the People's R
Features / 2 November 2024
2 November 2024
BHABANI SHANKAR NAYAK looks at how diplomacy between the two countries helped resolve their differences throwing a spanner in imperialism's designs for the region