The application to the Ukraine war is obvious. Ukraine’s government is of course not socialist, but it is meaningfully democratic. International observers agree that President Zelenskyy was elected fair and square, and while in socialist terms his domestic policy has been pretty bad, democratic institutions provide a framework where Ukrainian socialists can organize labor unions and political parties to pressure him to change his policy, or try to elect somebody else. That is more or less how Norway got to where it is today.

A second point is about civil liberties, which are a necessary part of democracy but still worth emphasizing. A future Ukrainian socialist movement may or may not get collective control of the national wealth in future, but freedom of speech, assembly, the press, and the rule of law are still worth defending in themselves.

This fucking guy.

EDIT: For the observers:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/17/ukraine-bans-communist-party-separatism

https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/here-are-stories-5-reporters-persecuted-ukraine-doing-their-job-past

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/19/world/europe/ukraine-bans-russian-music-books.html