With this week marking four years since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions reaffirms its support for the Ukrainian people in their fight for sovereignty and self-determination.
Earlier this week, Congress participated in an international trade union event with Ukraine’s unions this week that provided an opportunity to reaffirm our collective solidarity with Ukrainian workers and trade unions.
Since the outbreak of the war, Ukraine has endured relentless attacks on civilians and vital infrastructure, including strikes on hospitals, energy facilities and homes, in blatant violation of international humanitarian law and the most basic principles of human decency.
In many cases, it has been workers who have been directly and deliberately targeted. Earlier this year, fifteen miners were killed when a Russian drone struck their bus in the Pavlohrad district - a devastating reminder that no one is beyond the reach of this brutal conflict. In territories under Russia's illegal occupation, credible reports document the use of forced labour, the violent suppression of trade union freedoms, and the systematic mistreatment of workers, alongside the wider killing, torture and displacement of civilians.
The scale of this humanitarian catastrophe has reverberated far beyond Ukraine's borders. Congress also wishes to extend its solidarity to the more than 80,000 Ukrainians who fled the invasion and have made Ireland their home. They have enriched our communities and workplaces, and they carry with them the weight of the war that continues to drag on.
Trade unions have always stood proudly against imperialism. As the war in Ukraine enters its fifth year, that commitment remains as strong as ever. We stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people, with their trade unions, and with all those who resist imperialist and authoritarian regimes. A just and lasting peace, one based on respect for Ukrainian sovereignty, is what they deserve, and it is what we will continue to advocate for.
