The visit of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, president of Ukraine, to Ferdinand Marcos Jr in Malacanang on June 3 was a “big joke”, the International League of Peoples’ Struggle said. One is embroiled in a losing US-NATO proxy war against Russia, while the other is embroiled in a fast-developing US-China tension over the South China Sea. Both parrot US-manufactured war provocations and tensions.

Before this, they both attended the 21st Shangri-La Defense Summit in Singapore where Marcos boasted that he would consider a Filipino being killed in the disputed territories in the SCS an “act of war” by China. Zelensky, on the other hand, ventured into the conference in a “desperate attempt to scrounge support for the US-NATO war against Russia.” This is after the defeat of its “counter-offensive” against Russia last year.

During Zelensky’s meeting with Marcos, he asked the Philippines to send “mental health workers” to Ukraine. The ban on sending Filipino workers to Ukraine has been in effect since 2022.

The proxy war of the US has taken a heavy toll on the Ukrainian people, ILPS said. After two years, its casualties reached 60,000 soldiers and 10,000 civilians. The local economy is devastated, as is the livelihood of Ukrainians.

Despite this, US funding continues to prolong the war. Just last month, US president Joseph Biden authorized the pouring of $175 billion in war aid to Ukraine. Its NATO partners have pledged 32 billion euros in support.