Sir, – In his response to Fintan O’Toole on Sinn Féin voting against EU aid to Ukraine, I think it is Prof Geoffrey Roberts who misunderstands the international context of the Spanish Civil War (Letters, February 18th).
He seems to believe that the victory of the nationalist rebellion under Franco was a foregone conclusion and that intervention only served to turn this into a catastrophe. He draws a direct analogy with the Russian aggression against Ukraine.
But, contradictorily, he admits that Britain and France did not intervene in the Spanish Civil War. This led to Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy weighing much more heavily in favour of Franco than could the USSR and the left-wing international brigades for the legitimate Spanish Republic.
We simply cannot know who would have won with no intervention. Like the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Spanish Civil War inevitably had international repercussions. With the globe poised between two world wars, Britain and France (fearful of triggering 1914 all over again) influenced that outcome by refusing to intervene.
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Fintan O’Toole is quite right that in that grim scenario, the Irish left (and other international volunteers) fought against fascism, albeit often entertaining illusions about the USSR.
The issues are clearer in Ukraine where a resurgent Russian imperialism seeks to crush a sovereign state in complete violation of international law. Just how wrong Prof Roberts is to argue that without western help, this war could have ended in weeks, is shown by the fact that Russian president Vladimir Putin’s attempt to take all Ukraine failed utterly in February 2022, and has done ever since.
This does not mean there will be total victory by either side. But the balance of force will play a large part in what must be a negotiated outcome. EU aid (given the defection of the USA) is more vital than ever in securing the best possible result for Ukraine.
Prof Roberts’s blithe acceptance of “the brute fact of Putin’s coming victory” is both simplistic and chilling – for who believes that Russia would stop in the Donbass? As for the stance of Sinn Féin MEPs Lynn Boylan and Kathleen Funchion voting against aid for Ukraine on the spurious grounds of Irish neutrality, Fintan O’Toole is also right to remind us that such moral “neutrality” (never mind the company of authoritarian nationalist governments in Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic) has not always characterised Irish republicanism or the Irish left.
Fortunately, Sinn Féin has no monopoly of either. – Yours, etc,
JOHN HORNE,
Emeritus professor of modern European history,
Trinity College Dublin.
Sir, – Fintan O’Toole’s invocation of the Spanish Civil War in his recent column may be rhetorically striking, but it is a facile analogy that does little to illuminate the grave realities of the war in Ukraine – a war that continues to bring immense suffering to the Ukrainian people.
Irish republicans rightly honour those who went to Spain in the 1930s to confront fascism. Their courage deserves respect. But to deploy that history as a blunt instrument in today’s debate about EU financial packages and military policy reduces a complex contemporary conflict – and the human tragedy unfolding in Ukraine – to a convenient morality play.
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Let us deal in facts. Sinn Féin has consistently and unequivocally condemned Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. We have called for the immediate withdrawal of Russian forces. We support Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. We support humanitarian assistance, reconstruction funding, sanctions on Moscow and accountability for war crimes.
We stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people who have endured displacement, destruction and profound loss. There is no moral equivalence here. Russia invaded. Russia bears responsibility.
The vote in the European Parliament to which Mr O’Toole refers was not a vote on whether Ukraine has the right to exist, nor a judgment on who the aggressor is.
It concerned a €90 billion EU financial package within a broader trajectory of EU militarisation and defence integration. Collapsing that complexity into the insinuation that any dissent amounts to “waving Putin through” may suit a polemical column. It does not constitute sound policymaking.
Supporting Ukraine does not require endorsing every military-finance mechanism placed before the Parliament. One can stand firmly for sovereignty and international law while scrutinising proposals that embed long-term war-financing structures into EU institutions. That is not appeasement; it is democratic accountability exercised in the interests of lasting peace.
Ireland’s military neutrality is not passivity. It is an active policy choice to prioritise diplomacy, conflict resolution and humanitarian engagement over military alignment. It has strengthened our credibility in peace processes and ensured that we are not drawn into great-power blocs. Sinn Féin’s position flows from that tradition and from legitimate concerns about deeper EU militarisation – not from alignment with any other government’s agenda.
The lesson of Spain is not that more weapons always provide the answer. It is that democratic nations must not abandon those under attack. Sinn Féin does not advocate abandonment. We support sanctions, humanitarian aid, reconstruction and Ukraine’s right to self-defence under international law.
What we question is open-ended escalation without a credible diplomatic strategy running in parallel – because ultimately it is Ukrainian families who bear the heaviest cost of a prolonged war.
Wars end through negotiation and political settlement. Every year this war continues brings devastating human cost and risks further destabilisation. The responsible question is how this conflict is brought to a just and durable conclusion that allows the people of Ukraine to live in security and peace.
Ukraine deserves serious strategy, sustained solidarity and a genuine pathway to peace – not reductive analogies. – Yours, etc,
LYNN BOYLAN MEP,
Dublin 22.
Sir, – Those who argue that continuing support for Ukraine is a disservice to Ukrainians (Geoffrey Roberts, Letters, February 18th) and those, including some Irish MEPs, who claim they support Ukraine but voted against providing EU aid to them, ignore one crucial fact: it is up to Ukrainians themselves to determine what is in their best interest. That is the very essence of the sovereignty they are fighting for.
If they request financial support from the West because they choose to continue to defend their nation from Vladimir Putin, then the very least we can do is provide it. – Yours, etc,
KAY CHALMERS,
Douglas,
Cork.
Sir, – This Tuesday. February 24th, is the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It has been 1,462 days of continuous war crime attacks against civilian sites. Not only must Ukraine deal with Russia’s ongoing onslaught, the people must also contend with US president Donald Trump’s barrage of pro-Russian harangues against Ukraine’s efforts at self-defence. The European Union and the European operations of Nato must stand with the people of Ukraine by providing all essential assistance on a very timely basis. The security of European democracy begins at Ukraine’s front line. – Yours, etc,
DAN DONOVAN,
Dungarvan,
Co Waterford.
