Russian scientists demonstrate against their government’s war against Ukraine.
Open letter from Russian scientists and science journalists against the war with Ukraine
We, Russian scientists and science journalists, declare a strong protest against the military action initiated by the armed forces of our country on the territory of Ukraine. This fatal step entails enormous loss of life and undermines the foundations of the established international security system. The responsibility for starting a new war in Europe lies entirely with Russia.
There is no reasonable justification for this war. Attempts to use the situation in Donbas as a pretext to deploy a military operation are not credible. It is clear that Ukraine does not pose a threat to the security of our country. A war against it is unjust and frankly useless.
Ukraine was and remains a country close to us. Many of us have relatives, friends and colleagues in Ukraine. Our fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers fought Nazism together. The outbreak of war over the geopolitical ambitions of the Russian leadership, driven by dubious historiosophical fantasies, is a cynical betrayal of their memory.
We respect Ukraine’s statehood, which is based on democratic institutions that actually work. We are sensitive to the European choice of our neighbors. We are convinced that all problems in relations between our countries can be resolved peacefully.
By unleashing the war, Russia condemned itself to international isolation, to the position of a pariah country. This means that we scientists will no longer be able to do our job properly: scientific research is inconceivable without full cooperation with colleagues from other countries. Isolating Russia from the world means a further cultural and technological degradation of our country, without positive prospects. The war with Ukraine is a step towards nothingness.
We are bitterly aware that our country, which made a decisive contribution to the victory over Nazism, has become the instigator of a new war on the European continent. We demand an immediate halt to all military action against Ukraine. We demand respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Ukrainian State. We demand peace for our countries. Signatures keep pouring in, we add as many as possible (there are over 370 signatures now).
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