Russia

Left stranded between Russia and a hard place

The seeming prevarication of the far left on the invasion of Ukraine appears to be the aftermath of its erstwhile love affair with the former USSR rather than a pro-Putin stance, but it muddies the waters nevertheless

Ukrainian soldiers on the battlefield: a study found that political support for Russia in the conflict tended to come from the far left and far right. Picture: Getty

Two weeks ago, on the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the government tabled a Dáil motion which unconditionally condemned the invasion.

Amendments to the motion were tabled by People Before Profit/Solidarity and by Thomas Pringle, the independent TD for Donegal, first condemning Nato’s role in “escalating the conflict”, and then calling for a ceasefire and negotiated peace.

Pringle’s amendment also included a call for “countries involved in the conflict” to respect the rights ...