Economists estimate extreme poverty could be drastically reduced for a fraction of global defence spending, yet military budgets continue to expand year on year, says JON TRICKETT MP, ahead of the Stop the War International Conference on Saturday
THERE WERE calls heard around the world this weekend for Russia to end its attack on Ukraine which has been going on now for five days since it violated international law and Ukraine’s sovereignty by crossing the border into that country with troops and weapons.
As the fighting continued in Ukraine’s major cities this weekend and the death toll mounted, there were new developments that offered a glimmer of hope. Ukraine and Russia agreed to hold talks in a neutral location on the border between Ukraine and Belarus.
Successful diplomacy to solve the crisis must begin with the cessation of Russian military operations in Ukraine and give serious attention to a number of critical issues.
While 69 per cent of Ukrainians want negotiated peace, Western leaders are cynically prolonging the war for their own strategic and economic goals, to the immense detriment of Ukraine and Europe, write BOB ORAM and MAGGIE SIMPSON
Washington plays innocent bystander while pouring weapons and intelligence into Ukraine, just as it enables the Gaza genocide — but every US escalation leaves Ukraine weaker than the neutrality deal rejected in 2022, argue MEDEA BENJAMIN and NICOLAS JS DAVIES


