05-09-2026: In the last week of August, the US CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) Director John Ratcliffe made a surprise trip to Moscow, supposedly to warn Russia against attacking NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) targets in Europe.[1] In reality, it was a mission to beg and plead with the leaders of the Russian Federation to cease their ongoing assault on Ukraine, to prevent its final collapse. Ratcliffe probably both pleaded and brought more threats of unleashing unconventional war on Russia if it did not agree to a ceasefire. Yet Ratcliffe went away empty handed, as the two highest Russian officials – President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov – refused to meet him. Ratcliffe’s flight to Moscow contains two important confirmations. Firstly, it confirms that NATO is badly losing its proxy war in Ukraine, and the Nazified Ukrainian state may not last until the end of the year. Secondly, it confirms the fact that the war on the Ukrainian side is being organised and directed by none other than the CIA.

Busification

Kyrylo Budanov, the former head of Ukraine’s military intelligence and now the supposed head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, has recently stated openly that Ukraine needs to “mobilise” 30 000 people into the military per month, just to maintain its current positions.[2] This gives a dire indication of the grim situation for NATO backed Ukraine on the front lines. The Ukrainians who are rounded up into the military and sent to the battle lines will most likely be fed as cannon fodder to the Russian artillery, in a shocking waste of life. Almost no one in Ukraine wants to join the war at this point, and they are largely fighting back against being dragged there by Ukrainian “President” Zelenskyy’s thugs. The term “busification” has been coined in Ukraine, to describe the forceful and violent abduction of Ukrainians on the streets, throwing them into vans and driving them straight to the front lines. There are many videos circulating online of Ukrainians physically fighting off the military “recruiters”, with some being successful in being released do to help from passers by or friends or partners.[3] Some videos show wives holding on to their husbands in an effort to prevent them being physically dragged away and into waiting vans.

Ukraine is seen as cannon fodder for NATO’s vain regime change war on Russia. The US and EU (European Union) elite do not care how many Ukrainians perish in their push towards World War III on the world’s strongest nuclear armed power. Currently, Ukraine is suffering four times as many deaths as there are births, according to Ukrainian statistics. In the first half of 2026, 73 000 children were born while nearly 260 000 died.[4] It is said that Ukraine is losing 1000 men per day from its NATO directed war, either killed in action, or wounded, or through desertion. This might be why the puppet Zelenskyy has stated that the aim is to produce 1000 long range drones per day, so they can be fired deep into Russian territory.[5] This is extremely unlikely and cannot even be stated without a guarantee from his US and EU sponsors. Yet the most awful imperialist move may well be US backing for the conscription of women into the Ukrainian military, where they will most likely die alongside men.[6] This is both cynical and sinister.

Each step threatens a nuclear war

The nostrum of the West “fighting Russia to the last Ukrainian” is actually taking place. It is said that Ukraine’s population in 1991 was 52 million, and 44 million in 2022, but that figure may now be as low as 22 million. Understandably, millions of Ukrainians have fled from the country in fear for their lives, regardless of what their political view of the conflict may be. Yet the military actions of Russia have always been in response to the provocations and attacks directed against it by the CIA backed Ukrainian government, or what remains of it. The current pounding of Kiev and Odessa with missiles and drones is a Russian response to ongoing drone attacks deep into Russian territory, targeting Russian oil refineries and even e-commerce warehouses. In retaliation, Russia has struck Ukrainian storage facilities, resulting in empty shelves in stores throughout Kiev. The port of Odessa has now been closed by the Russian army, but this act was only taken after NATO backed Ukraine began targeting and sinking Russian civilian ships carrying basic goods in the Black Sea.

On August 24, the unelected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (UK) Andy Burnham travelled to Ukraine to meet Zelenskyy, where he pledged open support for a continued war on Russia. Reportedly, he was handing over blueprints to Ukraine for the production of Storm Shadow missiles, ready to fire deep into Russian territory.[7] This is an unimaginable provocation, which if carried out may result in the destruction of the UK itself, if not an exchange of nuclear weapons. If this was not enough, there followed a series of articles in British newspapers heavily implying that conscription of people for a war on Russia will begin, with those who dodge it to face “severe consequences”.[8] Due to funding cuts over several decades, the UK’s armed forces have now dwindled to a residual force of only 74 000. Yet an attempt to impose conscription for a war on Russia would be likely to spark a revolt, as most young people regard the current UK government as a joke or worse. The UK is currently in a state of visible decline, with its capitalist system crumbling economically, politically and culturally.

Imperialism’s war on Russia is connected directly to its current war on Iran, which are both ultimately aimed at China. Like King Canute, imperialism is attempting in vain to hold back the tides which are rolling in to wash away US led unipolarity in favour of Eurasian led multipolarity. Washington itself knows that it cannot compete with the vast advances in technology, science, manufacturing and industry in the People’s Republic of China alone, let alone this combined with the efforts of its allies which now include almost the entire Global South. So it is resorting to war, chaos, destabilisation, regime change operations and reactionary colour revolutions, all at the same time. Yet all can see the limits of US power today.

Working people have a direct material interest in halting the warmongering of the elite politicians of the US, the UK and the EU.  However, in the West there effectively is no anti-war movement, as the “left” remains almost silent. This silence is partially based on their characterisation of Russia as “authoritarian” or even “imperialist” – which bends to the most extreme Russophobia. Whatever your view of the Russian government, the West must coexist with Russia, otherwise it is World War III. Anti-war organising must be directly linked to the desperate cost of living crisis facing the overwhelming majority in the West – food, housing, utility bills and more. It is one struggle. No War on Russia! No to NATO! No to Conscription!

Workers League

www.redfireonline.com

E: workersleague@protonmail.com

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[1] www.cnbc.com/2026/08/27/ratcliffe-moscow-russia-nato-ukraine-iran.html (02-09-2026)

[2] www.kyivpost.com/post/83290 (02-09-2026)

[3] www.busification.org/en (02-09-2026)

[4] www.spzh.eu/en/news/94534-in-ukraine-mortality-rate-is-four-times-higher-than-birth-rate-statistics (02-09-2026)

[5] www.newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/ukraine-plans-to-launch-1-000-drones-at-russia-1787939077.html (02-09-2026)

[6] www.voennoedelo.com/en/posts/id19266-kellogg-backs-mobilizing-ukrainian-women-into-army (02-09-2026)

[7] www.aerotime.aero/articles/russia-uk-storm-shadow-blueprint-ukraine-andy-burnham (02-09-2026)

[8] www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/uk-conscription-fears-rise-expert-37603027 (02-09-2026)

Image: A graphic depicting “busification” in Ukraine – the forcible dragging of Ukrainians to the front lines of NATO’s proxy war on Russia. http://www.multipluralworld.com