There’s a lot of soft opposition to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in the name of marxism, class politics, and inter-imperalist rivalries. It’s a fight among oligarchies – Russian, U.S. Ukrainian – we are told. U.S. imperialism has done far worse. NATO set the table here. Seldom, if at all, do Ukraine’s people appear – fighting, dying, fleeing, hoping – in such analyses. Nor does Ukraine’s fledgling democracy merit a word. Nor does Ukraine’s sovereignty get a nod. Even Putin’s order putting Russia’s nuclear forces on alert doesn’t register much in their reflexive scheme. Am I surprised? Not really.