Further to our report on the strike of Donetsk coal miners against Kiev's "anti terrorist operation" we publish here an eyewitness account by Stanislav Retinskyi which was published in the Ukrainian left wing site Liva. The author talks to the miners and explains how they took the initiative themselves and what pushed them to strike.

Miners of the Donetsk region stopped work yesterday, starting an all-out strike in protest against the Ukrainian army’s continuing offensive and demanding an end to the “anti-terrorist operation” (ATO) in the region; several pits in the Donbas are taking part already and the strikes appears to be spreading to more mines. Meanwhile, spokesmen of the Kiev government and Ukrainian armed forces threaten escalation of the crackdown, with ATO press-secretary Alexei Dmitrashkovsky statingthat the operation will continue “until

May 26 was the bloodiest day so far in Kiev’s “anti-terrorist” operation where Ukrainian forces used fighter jets and helicopter gunships to fight off rebels who had taken over the airport in Donetsk. This is the clear message the new president Poroshenko is sending to the Peoples’ Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk.

The events that led to the holding of the latest Ukrainian presidential election started with a demand for EU-integration. So it is fitting that the election with the lowest participation (estimated at around 55% by the Ukrainian Electoral Commission) in Ukraine’s history was held on the same day as the EU elections, which had an even lower participation of 43%. The first round was won outright by oligarch Petro Poroshenko, scoring 54% with 80% of the votes counted. Yulia Tymoshenko was runner-up at a distant 13%, while fellow populist Oleh Lyashko took just over 8%.

We republish here the first statement of the left wing organisation Union of Borotba (Struggle) on Ukraine’s “elections of blood"

On May 20th, Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine’s wealthiest man and oligarch boss of the South East of the country had called for a mass mobilisation against the Donetsk Peoples’ Republic and for a united Ukraine.

We publish this article by Borotba leader Sergei Kirichuk which deals with the attacks against the Communist Party of Ukraine and calls for broad solidarity with all those suffering repression and right wing attacks.

Sergei Kirichuk is a leading member of the Ukrainian socialist movement "Borotba" (Struggle) For many years he fought against the oligarchic regime of Viktor Yanukovych. But today Kirichuk and his comrades are organizing resistance to the new authorities. In response to these they have been targeted by right-wing terror and police repression. Kiev propagandists have described Kirichuk as one of the leaders of the "separatists", and extreme right wing Ukranian nationalists have included ​​his name in the list of "enemies of the Ukrainian nation."

Yesterday, May 20 a paramilitary gang of armed fascists attempted to kidnap a number of Borotba activists in broad day light at the end of a protest against the Kiev authorities in Freedom Square, in the centre of Kharkov. The attack was repelled by the protesters and by passers by who were faced with the passivity or complicity of uniformed police present. (see Borotba statement here)

The holding of the referendums in eastern Ukraine represents a new and potentially dangerous twist in the Ukrainian crisis. The representatives of the people of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions say 89% and 96% respectively voted in favour of self-rule.

Two days from the May 11 referendum in Donetsk and Luhansk, the Kiev authorities, unable to crush the uprising in the Donbas, are stepping up the war hysteria, curtailing democratic rights and incorporating fascist paramilitaries into the state apparatus. Meanwhile there are signs of growing working class activity in the areas under the control of the rebels.

In a rare moment of candour, yesterday, Ukraine's acting President Turchynov admitted that his forces were "helpless" to quell the unrest in Eastern Ukraine, as the pro-Russian insurgency is on the rise. Furthermore he admitted that the Ukrainian security forces were not reliable and “some of these units either aid or co-operate with terrorist groups.” Now the goal would be to prevent the pro-Russian insurgency from spreading in the Kharkiv and Odessa regions. This amounts to a declaration of defeat.

On 22 April a strike began at the six mines of PJSC "Krasnodonugol" in Krasnodon, region of Lugansk. The mines are owned by SCM, the company of Rinat Akhmetov, one of the country’s wealthiest businessmen and a key regional oligarch. 2000 miners gathered at the mine office, demanding the reinstatement of 30 miners who had been dismissed for participating in a rally in Lugansk. The striking miners demanded a wage increase to bring their wages up to the average wage of workers in the Donbas coalfield and the lifting of sanctions against their fellow miners.

Ukrainian president Oleksandr Turchynov declared yesterday in a live televised address that a full-scale operation involving the army will be launched to regain control over Eastern Ukraine. Whether it is a bluff or a real threat, which the Ukrainian government has the will and means to enforce, is yet to be seen. But today, the same Turchynov has declared that the Kiev government is not against holding a referendum in Eastern Ukraine and set a date for May 25. Meanwhile, there is talk of Kiev asking for UN peacekeepers. This all shows the insoluble mess the Ukrainian authorities have got themselves into.

We publish an interview with Ukrainian left-wing activist Kolesnik Dmitry. The interview gives an excellent insight to the situation in Ukraine and the forces that are at play. We believe that this is an important contribution to the discussion about the class struggle in the country and the tasks of the Marxists.