The Reality of Ukrainian Civil Society

From 4 to 8 August, the Ukrainian student union Priama Diia [2] held its third congress freely and democratically with some sixty delegates present. A few days later, the healthcare workers’ union “Be Like We Are” organised a trade union conference in Odessa. In Lviv, the feminist group Feminist Workshop [3] held a public meeting on 4 August on the theme “Who are feminists? Against whom and why do they fight?”.

On 20 August 2025, in Kharkiv, trade unionists from the FPU trade union confederation [4] (3 million members) met. And on 20 August, the socialist organisation Sotsialnyi Rukh [5] held a meeting in Kyiv, at 35a Yaroslavska Street, on the situation of workers in critical infrastructure, notably with Kateryna Izmaylova from the Railway Workers and Transport Drivers Union of Ukraine present.

Maintaining a record of the daily activities of trade unions and parties (especially those on the left) in Ukraine would be a tedious task that would fill hundreds of pages.

Why Does LFI Lie About Ukrainian Reality?

But why does LFI lie about Ukraine’s social and political reality? Why does it show such contempt for the Ukrainian proletariat, its organisations, and social movements?

1. Russia as Anti-Imperialist State

For LFI, the Russian Federation is an anti-imperialist state that is politically “deformed” or “degenerate” with authoritarian traits. Consequently, it can simultaneously support Russia against American imperialism and its European allies whilst regretting the repression that strikes certain of its opponents (chosen by LFI itself) and even offer them support. It can also occasionally deplore the absence of democracy in the Federation. But ultimately, since it analyses the world situation in terms of confrontations between states and not in terms of class struggle, the Russian Federation constitutes first and foremost a point of support to be defended against American imperialism - the unique and principal enemy - and which must not be weakened too much by inconsiderate criticism given the international stakes.

2. The Denial of Ukrainian Workers’ Movements

Within this framework, the Ukrainian workers’ movement and social movements cannot exist. For recognising their existence and activities - independent of the Ukrainian state, sometimes against it when it comes to defending social gains and rights - would oblige one to acknowledge a Ukrainian social democracy a thousand times superior to the Putinist dictatorship. This denial of reality has, moreover, the signal advantage of drawing a line of equality between the Kyiv regime and that of Moscow in terms of democratic standards. Both are equivalent by this measure, with one essential difference: that of the Kremlin opposes the United States whilst Zelensky’s is its plaything.

It is therefore essential to erase from the truncated equation the X factor constituted by the existence of Ukrainian workers’ organisations and social movements. This erasure allows one to reasonably choose the Russian Federation against Ukraine and to validate as legitimate its colonial ambitions as a form of anti-imperialist resistance. Even if, in a fleeting sob, LFI may regret the Russian aggression against Ukraine, “anti-imperialist” necessity makes the law. Even against the truth.

Patrick Le Tréhondat