Ukraine is an international issue that has caused more confusion than most on the Left. In this article, first posted on Europe Solidarie sans Frontieres (see http://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article35480), Jean Batou explains the role of Putin’s Russia and the historical background to revolutionary socialists’ understanding of Russia’s imperial domination of Ukraine. PAST AND PRESENT IMPERIALISMS: PUTIN, THE WAR…