Russian attack More than 4,000 Russian scientists and journalists condemn the war in Ukraine in an open letter: “There is no reasonable justification for this war”

Abroad|The Russian attack

Over 4,100 Russian and Russian scientists and journalists sign anti-war in Ukraine open letter.

The letter has been published, for example, on the website of the independent Russian-language newspaper Troitsky Variant – Nauka, which had about 4,100 signatures under Finnish time on Sunday.

The letter has also been published by an Estonian newspaper, for example Russian version of PostimeesFrench newspaper Le Monde and the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine.

Letter begins with the words “We Russian scientists and scientific journalists strongly oppose the hostilities in Ukraine initiated by our country’s armed forces”.

It also states that “there is no reasonable justification for this war” and that the war is “downright absurd”. The letter calls for an immediate end to hostilities and ends with the words “Let us practice science, not war”.

The letter was originally published on Thursday. Since its publication, the number of scientists who have signed it has grown steadily. Signatures are manually filtered, for example, for incomplete signatures and duplicate signatures, which means that not all of them appear online yet.

You can read the full letter at the end of the story.

The letter has been translated by a professor of Russian at the University of Eastern Finland Larisa Leisiöto whom the letter was shared by Leisiö’s colleague, botanist and assistant professor at the University of Johannesburg Alexei Oskolski. Oskolski asked Leisiö to translate the letter and forward it for publication in the Finnish media.

Among the signatories are several well-known scientists, such as the Nobel Prize-winning Russian-British physicist Konstantin Novoselov. Some of the signatories are members of Russia’s highest scientific institution, the Russian Academy of Sciences, such as a mathematician Viktor Vasilyevphysicist Vladimir Zakharov and a linguist Aleksandr Moldovan.

Among other things, a correspondent member of the Russian Academy of Sciences is also involved Irma Mullonen.

Open letter from Russian scientists and science journalists against the war against Ukraine

We Russian scientists and science journalists strongly oppose the hostilities in Ukraine launched by our country’s armed forces. This fatal step will lead to enormous loss of life and undermine the foundations of the established international security system. The responsibility for starting a new war in Europe lies entirely with Russia.

There is no sensible justification for this war. Attempts to use the situation in Donbas as an excuse to launch a military operation in Ukraine are not credible. It is clear that Ukraine does not pose a threat to our country’s security. The war against Ukraine is unfair and downright absurd.

Ukraine was and is a country close to us. Many of us have relatives, friends and colleagues in Ukraine. Our grandfathers and grandfathers fought together against Nazism. The outbreak of war over the geopolitical aspirations of the leadership of the Russian Federation based on questionable historical interpretations is a cynical betrayal of the memory of our ancestors.

We respect the state of Ukraine, which is based on truly functioning democratic institutions. We sympathize with the European choice of our neighbors. We are convinced that all problems related to relations between our countries can be resolved peacefully.

By launching the war, Russia condemned itself to international isolation and the status of a stretcher. This means that we scientists will no longer be able to do our job properly: scientific research cannot be thought of without the full cooperation of colleagues from other countries. Isolating Russia from the world means further deterioration of our country’s culture and technology without a positive outlook. The war with Ukraine is a step to nothing.

We are bitterly aware that our country, which played a decisive role in the victory of Nazism, has now become the initiator of a new war on the European continent. We demand the immediate cessation of all military action against Ukraine. We demand respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Ukrainian state. We demand peace for our countries. Let’s practice science, not war!