In the last week, Crimea has officially become part of the Russian Federation. The western powers, despite a series of veiled threats, have been able to do nothing to stop this process. Francesco Merli examines the latest developments in Russia and Ukraine, which expose the declining influence of US imperialism and its European allies.

We republish here an article by Gerry Ruddy, originally written for the Red Plough, which looks at the politics of Gerry Adams and Sinn Fein, who have accepted the capitalist system and ignored the class question in relation to the north of Ireland.

Tomasz Pierscionek looks at the background and development of the events in Ukraine, where the situation has progressed rapidly with a complex interplay of forces, including competing imperialist powers. Socialists cannot support either the US or Russian backed “solutions”. Only a movement of the working class, in Ukraine and internationally, can provide a real solution to the people in the Ukraine.