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An open letter from Russian scientists and science journalists against the war with Ukraine

February 24, 2022

We, Russian scientists and scientific journalists, declare our strong protest of the hostilities launched by the armed forces of our country against the territory of Ukraine. This fatal step has led to huge human losses and undermined the foundations of the established system of international security. The responsibility for unleashing this new war in Europe lies entirely with Russia.

There is no rational justification for this war. Attempts to use the situation in Donbass as a pretext for launching a military operation inspire no confidence. It is clear that Ukraine does not pose a threat to the security of our country. The war against it is unfair and arrogantly senseless.

Ukraine has been and remains a country that is close to us. Many of us have relatives, friends, and scientific colleagues who live in Ukraine. Our fathers, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers fought together against Nazism. Unleashing a war for the sake of the geopolitical ambitions of the leaders of the Russian Federation, who are driven by dubious historical fantasies, is a cynical betrayal of their memory.

We respect Ukrainian statehood, which rests on functioning democratic institutions. We treat Europe’s attitude towards our neighbors with understanding. We are convinced that all problems in relations between our countries can be resolved peacefully.

Having unleashed the war, Russia has doomed itself to international isolation, to the position of a pariah country. This means that we, as scientists, will no longer be able to do our jobs normally: After all, conducting scientific research is unthinkable in the absence of full cooperation with colleagues from other countries. The isolation of Russia from the world, in the complete absence of positive prospects, means the further cultural and technological degradation of our country. War with Ukraine is a step to nowhere.

It is bitter for us to realize that our country, which made a decisive contribution to the victory over Nazism, has now become the instigator of a new war on the European continent. We demand an immediate halt to all military operations directed against Ukraine. We demand respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Ukrainian state. We demand peace for our countries.

Filed Under: Russia, Ukraine

Who We Are

Co-chairs

Joel L. Lebowitz, Rutgers University

Paul H. Plotz, M.D., Washington, DC

Walter Reich, George Washington University

Eugene Chudnovsky, Lehman College

Alexander Greer, Brooklyn College

Vice-chairs

Astronomy – Arno Penzias, New Enterprises Associates*

Biology – Max E. Gottesman, Columbia University

Chemistry – Zafra Lerman, MIMSAD Inc.

Computer Science – Rachelle Heller, The George Washington University

Computer Science – Jack Minker, University of Maryland, College Park

Engineering – Philip Sarachik, NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering

Mathematics – Simon Levin, Princeton University

Medical Sciences – J. Joseph Blum, Duke University

Honorary Board Members

Nancy Andrews, Duke University

David Baltimore, California Institute of Technology*

Alan J. Bard, University of Texas

Jacob Bigeleisen (deceased), SUNY, Stony Brook

Raoul Bott (deceased), Harvard University

Owen Chamberlain (deceased), University of California, Berkeley

Stanley Deser, Brandeis University

Edward Gerjuoy, University of Pittsburg

David Gross, (2004 Nobel Prize in Physics), Kavil Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara*

Pierre Hohenberg (deceased), New York University

Walter Kohn (deceased), University of California, Santa Barbara*

James Langer, University of California, Santa Barbara

Peter Lax, New York University

Louis Nirenberg, New York University

Marshall Nirenberg (deceased), National Institutes of Health*

Honorary Board Members

John C. Polanyi, University of Toronto*

Stuart Rice, University of Chicago

Sir Richard J. Roberts, (1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology & Medicine), New England Biolabs*

Myriam Sarachick, City College of New York

Harold Scheraga, Cornell University

Sylvan Schweber (deceased), Brandeis University

Maxine Singer, Carnegie Institution of Washington

Alfred I. Tauber, Boston University

Steven Weinberg, University of Texas, Austin*

Myrna Weissman, Columbia University

Rosalyn S. Yalow (deceased), Mount Sinai School of Medicine*

* Nobel laureate

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