Members of Courage to Resist collaborated on the creation of this important statement from Veterans For Peace, which was adopted by the national VFP Board of Directors on June 25, 2022.
Veterans For Peace (VFP) unequivocally condemns Russia’s horrific invasion of Ukraine. VFP opposes western militarism and increased US military spending, and we are deeply concerned about even the possibility of nuclear warfare.
Veterans For Peace maintains that:
- That the people of Ukraine have the right to self determination and to lead their own struggle for national liberation.
- That all people deserve to live without military invasions, occupation or threats of war, including the militarization of Russia’s borders by the U.S. and NATO.
- All parties to the Russia-Ukraine War should commit to genuine diplomacy with serious negotiations.
- War resisters from every nation deserve support and safe refuge.
Veterans For Peace has consistently advocated for an end to war and as U.S. veterans to “restrain our governments from intervening, overtly and covertly, in the internal affairs of other nations”. (See our past Position Statements)
As veterans who know the enormous costs of wars, Veterans For Peace will continue to advocate for: (a) reduction of global arms sales, (b) limiting the expansion of US militarism globally, and (c) nuclear disarmament.
“I continue to be so impressed by the leadership of Courage to Resist in building a broad movement to free Chelsea Manning.”
Excellent Statement!
Just as the Vietnamese were entitled to self-determination and armed struggle against the U.S., Johnson and Nixon to achieve that objective, Ukrainians are likewise entitled to self-determination and armed struggle against Imperial Russia and Emperor Putin. Just as the Vietnamese were provided weapons from the Soviet Union and China, Ukrainians must be able to receive them from supporting members of NATO and other nations.
Just as U.S. War Resister were able to travel north to Canada in search of freedom from conscription, Ukrainians should be able to travel south to Georgia, which they can enter without a visa, or go west to St. Petersburg to catch the ferry to Finland, or elsewhere. All people are entitled to “vote with their feet” to avoid becoming “cannon fodder” in “unnecessary wars of choice/wars of aggression.”