We at Stop the War condemn the invasion of Ukraine, and warmongers on all sides

‘The hypocrisies of the war supporters are only possible if we forget the context and history of modern wars. Ukraine did not come out of a clear blue sky.’ Photograph: Javier Campos/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock

Not since the immediate run-up to the Iraq war in 2003 has there been such a disinformation blitz about the anti-war movement. In the overheated atmosphere today we are accused of apologising for Putin’s brutal invasion and of being “fifth columnists” and “traitors”. In 2003 we were “friends of the Taliban” or “allies of Saddam”. It wasn’t true then and it’s not true now.

What is true is that there seems to be a permanent glitch in the matrix of the minds of war enthusiasts that prevents them from understanding that it is possible to oppose the policy of your own government and still oppose the actions of other governments. Our critics want to make it either/or. But it’s not. Unlike many of our detractors, we are consistent in opposing the misery, death, displacement and disruption that affects any country consumed by war.