Chris Coleman

Russian Ambassador to China Igor Morgulov, centre, attends the Immortal Regiment
march as part of celebrations of the upcoming Victory Day, in Beijing, China

On Monday, May 5, a massive military parade from Westminster to Buckingham Palace opened the VE Day commemorations officially organised by the British state. King Charles and sundry "Royals" as they are laughingly known, all resplendent in military uniform with glittering if unearned honours, received the marchers. Prime Minister Keir Starmer also attended.

The Soviet War Memorial in Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park, South East London

In interviews and other declarations that day, Starmer spoke of the legacy of "service" of those who fought and sacrificed in WW2, but with scant regard for the facts of its history, and lauded thereby the "service" of the today's forces, in their preparations for further wars. No mention was made of Britain's participation in the US/NATO proxy war against Russia in Ukraine. Ironically, much was made of the presence in the parade of a group of the Ukrainian Army being trained here in Britain, notwithstanding the incorporation in that army of the direct descendants of the Stepan Bandera Nazi collaborators. No mention was made either of the Starmer government's support in armaments and other military assistance in the genocide of the Palestinian people being perpetrated in Gaza and elsewhere.

It is notable also that the Starmer government were not represented at the Victory celebrations in Moscow on May 9. Shame on them! Yet the facts of history are clear. It was the Soviet Red Army and the immense sacrifices of the Soviet people that played the main role in the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, at the cost of 27 million lives. The great battles at Stalingrad and Kursk were the turning point of the war. And the fact was that, apart from the successful campaign against Rommel's forces in North Africa and the subsequent pursuit of the Nazi forces up through Italy and Austria, for nearly two years the Soviet Union, not forgetting the communist-led Resistance and partisans in occupied Europe, had fought the Nazis virtually alone, with Churchill's refusal to open a Second Front, even with Roosevelt willing. Once that front was opened with the D-Day landings a major contribution to victory was made with further great sacrifice against a determined enemy. Again, the exploits of the Red Army on the Eastern Front at that time are never mentioned.

The Red Army raising the flag of the USSR over the Reichstag 1945

It should also be pointed out that, earlier, faced with the threat to all Europe of Hitlerite aggression, the Soviet Union had called on Britain and France to sign a collective mutual assistance pact with military clauses. They refused, choosing instead to sign the Munich Agreement with Nazi Germany and fascist Italy, an act of gross betrayal which sealed the fate of Europe, ceding Czechoslovakia and its powerful armaments industry to Hitler, and giving him the green light to go East and attack the Soviet Union. In such circumstances, the Soviet Union wisely signed a purely Non-Aggression Pact with Germany, which delayed the inevitable Nazi invasion, gave time to rapidly re-arm, and allowed Soviet forces to retake territories of Byelorussia and Ukraine seized by Poland in 1919-20, and thus save their populations from the terrible fate of Poland.

Later, with the victory of 1945 promising a world of peace, freedom and democracy, the governments of Truman and Attlee reverted to their old policies. These policies had brought disasters to the world's peoples, including their own - policies of "containment of communism" as their main aim, policies of support for and the practice of colonialism and militarism - whatever their solemn pledges to prevent fascism and militarism from ever rising again.

As regards the military, it must be said that British forces have not participated in a just war since 1945. One has only to cite Greece, Malaya, Korea, Ireland, Malvinas, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria. And current threats against China, Russia, and the DPRK promise no less!

Nothing however can dim the memory of or the respect for those who fought so heroically and made such sacrifices in the Second World War, military, civilians and partisans alike. Nor can the growing resistance against the warmongers - whatever the grave dangers they pose - involving millions throughout the country and the world, including governments, each step bringing nearer the achieving of an anti-war government, in its widest sense, be ignored. The peace-loving people will prevail, once again, not the warmongers, with the release of the people's limitless initiative!

Michael Chant, General Secretary of the Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist),
laying a display of red roses at the Soviet War Memorial in London.

On the morning of Friday, May 9, on a day marked with radiant sunshine, hundreds gathered at the Soviet War Memorial in Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park in South East London. With a mixture of profound solemnity and high spirits, flowers and wreaths were laid at the impressive and imposing memorial, till it was smothered in floral tributes surrounding the inscription on the monument. The English text reads: "This memorial commemorates the 27 million Soviet citizens & service men & women who died for the Allied victory in WWII" / "WE SHALL REMEMBER THEM".

More or less every single person and delegation attending laid flowers or wreaths. Participants included members of the Russian Speaking Community Council and the Russian diaspora in the UK, as well as British communists, patriotic forces from the former Soviet Union and other progressive people. The ceremony was attended by ambassadors and diplomats from Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Cuba, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, as well as H.E. Ambassador Andrei Kelin and Russian diplomats, who laid flowers and wreaths in commemoration.

Michael Chant, General Secretary of the Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist), laid a display of red roses on behalf of RCPB(ML).

Other events took place in Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and other cities.

For more information about the memorial, see: Soviet War Memorial Trust | London https://www.sovietwarmemorialtrust.com/

StormShroud Drone

A government press release on May 2 informs that the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer "hails game changing UK-made RAF drones" [1]. The Prime Minister made the outlandish claims that the initiative "further bolsters UK national security" while "hundreds of highly skilled jobs are being supported by the RAF's new cutting-edge UK made drones, known as 'StormShroud', which come into operation today (Friday 2 May)." [2] Starmer further claimed this as "Investment in our defence is an investment in this country's future". He asserted that this is "safeguarding our economic and national security by putting money back in the pockets of hard-working British people and protecting them for generations to come."

The statement goes on to say that this is "the latest boost to the UK's defence capabilities as the armed forces reap the benefits from Ukraine's battlefield experience, and comes as the UK continues to play a leading role in peace negotiations, including building momentum in talks between leaders in Rome last weekend [at the funeral of the Pope - Ed]. The UK is also driving forward Coalition of the Willing planning as well as accelerating UK-Ukrainian defence industrial cooperation."

The Starmer government is further compounding the lies that "the UK is continuing to play a leading role in peace negotiations". Britain has never played any role in peace negotiations in Ukraine but on the contrary successive governments, including the present Labour government, have done everything to intervene in Ukraine over the last 20 years. Since Russia's military operations started they have been in the forefront of escalating NATO's proxy war to prolong the conflict in the interests of their militarised industries and imperialist ruling elite. The reality is that Britain is still plotting with other EU pro-war leaders that Starmer calls the "coalition of the willing" to openly occupy Ukraine themselves and seize its resources in rivalry with the US by suddenly complaining that the US under Trump has imperialist ambitions in Ukraine and elsewhere. This will only further escalate the Anglo/US NATO proxy war with Russia and not bring about peace for the Ukrainian or Russian people.

This was further revealed by an article in The Telegraph on May 5 [3] reporting that Starmer and the Labour cabinet are secretly preparing for war with Russia. The article says they are preparing a plan, apparently formulated by a body called the Cabinet Office's Resilience Directorate, that "will direct the Prime Minister and Cabinet on how to run a wartime government and when they should seek shelter in the Downing Street bunker or outside London". This is because of, as it chillingly explains, "fears that it is not ready for war" with Russia over Britain's "support for Ukraine, which may soon include British troops on the ground".

For certain, it cannot be said that the Starmer government's promotion of investment in drones is about "safeguarding our economic and national security" and "protecting working people for generations to come". Rather it is about Britain's continuing interference and warmongering abroad. Starmer is not "putting money back in the pockets of hard-working British people" but is lining the pockets of the Anglo-US oligarchs and war industries that are making huge profits out of war in Ukraine and Israel.

Britain is criminally supporting Israel in its genocide against the Palestinians with weapons supplies and logistics, as well as carrying out the bombing Yemen and the Yemeni people who are standing with the Palestinians. Starmer's "defence" and "security" aims are in escalating Britain's interventions world-wide alongside the US and NATO. This warmongering in fact is at the expense of the working class and people and the rights of all in society and their welfare.

The context of Starmer's announcement

Protestors gathered outside RAF Waddington to oppose planned US drone flights in 2021.

In January, Starmer travelled to Kyiv, Ukraine, and signed with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy a "landmark 100 Year Partnership" in a vain attempt to ensure that Ukraine remains NATO's proxy against Russia.

The press release said that the Treaty will "bolster military collaboration on maritime security" through a new "framework to strengthen Baltic Sea, Black Sea, and Azov Sea security". It will "bring together experts to advance scientific and technology partnerships", significantly mentioning "agri-tech, space and drones". The government will "build on the £12.8 billion package of support the UK has given Ukraine, including £7.8bn of military assistance", a commitment "for £3bn in military aid a year until as long as it takes". The statement concludes that the UK and Ukraine "will use an annual high-level Strategic Dialogue to ensure progress on the partnership for decades to come."

As Workers' Weekly commented at the time: "In particular, the British warmongers are frustrated and want to continue to lay the foundations to continue the war. Significantly, the agreement mentions the Azov Sea which is a Russian internal sea. This was one of Britain's provocations against Russia that led to the war with Ukraine in 2022. In 2021 Britain signed an agreement with Ukraine in Odessa on its warship HMS Defender to 'assist in building naval bases around the Azov Sea and the Black Sea regions' with Babcock International, a British Marine, Nuclear, Land and Aviation arms manufacturer 'as the prime industrial partner' as well as also sending warships to Ukraine. This latest agreement deliberately continues that British provocation before any peace agreement is agreed between Russia and Ukraine." [4]

The "cutting-edge" RAF "StormShroud" war drones, as well as sea drones that have already been supplied for three years to Ukraine, are not defensive weapons but weapons that have and are being tested by Britain in NATO's proxy war against Russia in Ukraine.

Stepping up the opposition to militarisation

The working class and people cannot accept that this conflict, in which Britain is playing such a negative and nefarious role, must continue against Russia "to the last Ukrainian". They cannot accept that troops be allowed to intervene as "peacekeepers", endangering even greater conflicts in Europe. What the government is doing is not "safeguarding our economic and national security", nor "putting money back in the pockets of hard-working British people and protecting them for generations to come". These outlandish claims are aimed at justifying war with Russia, just as they are supporting Israel in its genocidal war against the Palestinians, the bombing of the people of Yemen, and wars elsewhere that are interests of the Anglo-US oligarchs and their imperialist system.

This is not about peace and security for the British people. The fact is peace and security are indivisible, and militarisation only leads to insecurity and war. This is what is being further revealed to the world's people who stand in truth for peace and security and are stepping up their opposition to war and working for peace. The anti-war movement in Britain is facing the crucial task of continuing to oppose the increasing militarisation of the British economy and oppose and expose their criminal military alliances and war crimes. The working class and people of Britain have the duty to step up their opposition to Britain's involvement in the US-led NATO alliance, the military alliances in the EU, in Ukraine, and with the genocidal Israeli regime. This is a vital question for the future of the British people and that of humanity.

Notes
1. Press release - Prime Minister hails game changing UK-made RAF drones
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prime-minister-hails-game-changing-uk-made-raf-drones
2. While Tekever, the manufacturer of the drones, is headquartered in Lisbon, Portugal, the platform for StormShroud, the Tekever AR3, is manufactured in west Wales and Southampton, delivered through a contract reflecting the platform's proven capabilities in Ukraine. The AR3 will carry Leonardo UK's BriteStorm electronic warfare payload, which is manufactured in Luton. It features radar jamming capability that disrupts enemy Integrated Air Defence Systems, improving the survival rate and operational effectiveness of our crewed aircraft. StormShroud has been developed in the UK by the RAF's Rapid Capabilities Office, the Catalyst team in Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), Defence Science and Technology Laboratories (DSTL), and UK industry. See European Security & Defence:
https://euro-sd.com/2025/05/major-news/43940/raf-introduces-stormshroud/
3. "Starmer prepares for attack by Russia", May 5, The Telegraph:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/05/05/starmer-prepares-for-attack-by-russia/
4. UK and Ukraine sign "Landmark 100 Year Partnership Agreement" Starmer's Vain Attempt to Ensure Ukraine Remains NATO's Proxy against Russia,Workers' Weekly, January 25 2025
https://www.rcpbml.org.uk/wwie-25/ww25-01/ww25-01-01.htm

Drone Wars carried a report dated May 12 updating the news of RAF drones one week after Keir Starmer's announcement that Britain has brought its new "StormShroud" drone into service. The report points out:

"StormShroud is a Tekever AR3 drone equipped with BriteStorm electronic jamming capability and said by the RAF, to be the first of its Autonomous Collaborative Platforms (ACP). The idea is for the drone to jam defence radar to enable combat aircraft to get through and undertake an attack.

"216 Squadron will operate 24 StormShroud drones which will apparently 'be capable of conducting autonomous swarming operations, including by drawing on artificial intelligence technology.' Some scepticism of these inflated claims is warranted.

"While the concept of ACP drones - dubbed Collaborative Combat Aircraft by the US - is for the drones to fly alongside or ahead of combat aircraft, StormShroud drones will be deployed from the ground with the drones arrival apparently timed to coincide with the arrival of a UK combat aircraft. How (and whether) this will actually work in practice remains to be seen."

On the new Protector RG1 drone, Drone Wars says:

"The UK's Military Aviation Authority (MAA) has issued 'Military Type Certification' to the UK's new 'Protector' armed drone, meaning that it is now free to fly within UK airspace, including over populated areas.

"Previously, for safety reasons, Protector and other large uncrewed systems such as the Protector's predecessor, the Reaper, were only allowed to fly in segregated airspace, with other aircraft excluded. Although large military drones are spreading rapidly, as Drone Wars has documented, they continue to tumble out of the skies for a whole variety of reasons.

"The UK is the first country to certify a large drone to fly freely in unsegregated airspace and General Atomics, the manufacturer of the drone - which they call MQ-9B SkyGuardian rather than UK designation of 'Protector RG1'- were delighted as it has huge implications for their sales. The company's press release called it 'a seminal achievement'. A key element of the approval, alongside 'rigorous testing', was apparently the 'rigid separation' of mission software from flight critical software."

In reporting on "Protector" drone flights in Britain, Drone Wars says: "The RAF also intends to open an International Training Centre at RAF Waddington to train pilots from overseas militaries to fly large armed drones. Training courses in the US are often oversubscribed, creating a waiting list and the UK sees an opportunity to sell places on its training courses. While much of this training will be 'synthetic' (i.e. on simulators) it is likely that some flying by these overseas pilots will also be done in the UK."

For the full article, see: https://dronewars.net/2025/05/12/rafs-new-armed-drone-given-approval-to-fly-freely-over-uk/