February 24 2026 marked the fourth anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Putin regime thought this would be the beginning of a quick military operation to install a puppet regime in Kiev. However, determined resistance by the Ukrainian people spoiled Russian plans for a quick victory. Four years later, the Ukrainian people continue to resist against overwhelming odds.
The Ukrainian struggle is a struggle for the self-determination of a historically oppressed people and it is a resistance struggle against Putin's far-right regime that aims to reconstruct the Russian empire. It is a struggle that deserves the solidarity of all those who support democracy and the right to self-determination.
Exactly while we stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, like the Ukrainian left we remain critical of Volodymyr Zelensky’s government: its neoliberal economic and anti-union policies and its attempts to undermine the independence of Ukraine’s key anti-corruption institutions. As the Ukrainian Social Movement declared, 'the main obstacle to effectively mobilising resources is the neoliberal policy, which prioritises private property above all else, encourages profiteering, and allows wealth to be accumulated by private individuals.' We reject policies that put the burden of the war on the shoulders of poor and working people while the rich continue to profit. The oligarchs must be forced to pay.
In times of war as well, democracy, working class rights and social justice need to be upheld and defended. It is on the basis of their own class position and their own rights that the broad masses of working people can be mobilized. They deserve a future worth fighting for. It is essential to improve social guarantees for the military service members, especially those defending Ukraine since 2022. The workers who keep Ukrainian society running in the face of continued Russian attacks need support as do the people who have fled the regions under Russian occupation.
Today, the Trump regime has given Putin renewed international legitimacy. There exists a clear political affinity between the US and Russian regimes; both embrace openly imperialist policies that grant the major powers a free hand to intervene in their so-called 'spheres of influence'. The Trump regime is willing to sacrifice Ukraine in order to appease Putin and draw Russia away from China. The European ruling classes meanwhile use Russia's war against Ukraine as an excuse to increase military spending and implement austerity policies that attack workers rights and social gains. Western imperialism is looking to lock in neoliberal and anti-democratic policies in Ukraine while hypocritically claiming to defend freedom.
We have seen how Trump's policies have fed Russian aggression. Russian attacks are systemically targeting the infrastructure necessary to provide light and heat to the Ukrainian people. Russia aims to break the Ukrainian will to fight. And yet, Ukraine continues to resist.
Russia's war against Ukraine has brought death and destruction on an unimaginable scale, with casualties running in the hundreds of thousands. A 'peace' on the terms of Putin and Trump, negotiated without the involvement of the Ukrainian people, would not be a lasting peace, but only a step towards future aggression by an emboldened Russia. A true peace is possible only on the basis of self-determination, democracy and social justice. International solidarity with the Ukrainian people, in the form of practical aid and political support to organisations fighting for democratic and social rights, remains urgently necessary.
From the beginning, the Fourth International has supported the Ukrainian resistance against Russian imperialism and called on socialists to organize international solidarity. We have build links with Ukrainian social and political organisations, notably with our comrades in the Social Movement. We have also supported the struggle of our comrades inside Russia and in exile against Russian imperialism.
On the fourth anniversary of the Russian full-scale invasion, we repeat our support for the Ukrainian struggle and for the Ukrainian people. We demand the complete withdrawal of Russian troops and the release of the thousands of Ukrainian civilians held in detention facilities in Russia and areas of Ukraine under Russian territories. We reject the game of inter-imperialist bargains and call for all negotiations to be public in front of the Ukrainian people.
Statement approved by the International Committee (IC) of the Fourth International on 25 February 2026.