On October 10, 2026, on the occasion of the Frankfurt Book Fair in Frankfurt am Main, Mehring Verlag presented its new book, “The Ukraine War and the Fight for Socialism: The Case of Bogdan Syrotiuk.” The discussion between Mehring Verlag representative Katja Rippert and the book’s editor, Johannes Stern, editor-in-chief of the German-language edition of the World Socialist Web Site, is now available on video.

Bogdan Syrotiuk, a young Ukrainian socialist and opponent of war, was sentenced to 15 years in prison in Ukraine on August 10 for “high treason under martial law.” He has already been imprisoned for more than two years. The new book documents Bogdan’s case, analyzes the origins of the Ukraine war and explains a socialist program for the fight against war. It can be ordered here in paperback or as an e-book.

In the interview, Stern explained that the entire trial against Bogdan was based on the criminalization of his political beliefs. He was convicted solely for his political and journalistic work for the WSWS. In his articles, he opposed the war from the standpoint of socialist internationalism and called for the unification of the Russian and Ukrainian working class against the Putin and Zelensky regimes and NATO. It is this position that is now being criminalized.

During the discussion, Stern also examined the political and historical background of the Ukraine war since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. He demonstrated that this war is by no means about the “defense of democracy” in Ukraine. Rather, the German government is pursuing the same imperialist interests in its current war policy against Russia as it did during the First and Second World Wars.

Stern explained the Trotskyist perspective that Bogdan has fought for and called on everyone present to support the campaign for his release and become actively involved themselves: “Everyone should take the path that Bogdan himself has courageously taken.”