MORE THAN 600 RUSSIAN SCIENTISTS SIGN OPEN LETTER AGAINST UKRAINE INVASION

Sun 27 January 2022:

More than 600 Russian experts have signed an open letter condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

It comes as other European universities and national academies have expressed their solidarity with their Ukrainian counterparts.

In a letter published on the trv-science.ru website, Russian researchers describe the battle with Ukraine as “unfair” and “senseless.”

In a letter posted on the trv-science.ru website, Russian researchers describe the war with Ukraine as ‘unfair’ and ‘senseless’. The signatories point out that many of them have relatives, friends and scientific colleagues in Ukraine, and say that the attack is a ‘cynical betrayal’ of previous generations of Russians and Ukrainians who fought together during the second world war.

The letter states that the invasion will isolate Russia and turn the country into an international pariah, making it impossible for scientific work in the country to carry on as normal. ‘After all, conducting scientific research is unthinkable without full cooperation with colleagues from other countries,’ the signatories write. ‘The isolation of Russia from the world means further cultural and technological degradation of our country in the complete absence of positive prospects.’

Many of the signatories have relatives, friends, and scientific colleagues in Ukraine, and they claim that the attack is a “cynical betrayal” of prior generations of Russians and Ukrainians who fought alongside each other during WWII.

In an interview with Science, bioinformatician Mikhail Gelfand, who helped organise the letter, noted that following the annexation of Crimea in 2014, he had visited the territory a couple of times to nurture links between Russian and Ukrainian scientists. ‘Now, I’m afraid, that is no longer possible,’ he said.

On February 24, Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered a land, sea, and air attack on Ukraine. The invasion followed months of tension as Russia amassed around 200,000 troops on its border with the former Soviet territory, which gained independence in 1991.

According to the letter, the invasion will isolate Russia and turn it into an international pariah, making scientific work in the country difficult to continue as usual.

The signatories state, “After all, conducting scientific research is unthinkable without complete cooperation with colleagues from other countries.”

‘Russia’s isolation from the rest of the world means that our country will continue to deteriorate culturally and technologically in the lack of any positive prospects.’

As western nations ramp up sanctions on Russia in response to the aggression, Science Business reports that some European politicians have called for Russia to be ejected from the EU’s Horizon Europe science funding programme. While research leaders stress that scientific enterprise should not be politicised, the European commission has in recent years used access to Horizon Europe as a political bargaining chip.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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