This article by science correspondent Jamie Durrani was posted in聽Chemistry World, the online magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Here’s the link:
“An open letter criticising the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been signed by more than 600 Russian scientists. It comes as other universities and national academies across Europe sent messages of support to their Ukrainian colleagues.
On 24 February, 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 its independence in 1991.
In a posted on the trv-science.ru website, Russian researchers describe the war with Ukraine as 鈥榰nfair鈥� and 鈥榮enseless鈥�. The signatories point out that many of them have relatives, friends and scientific colleagues in Ukraine, and say that聽the attack is a 鈥榗ynical betrayal鈥� 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. 鈥楢fter all, conducting scientific research is unthinkable without full cooperation with colleagues from other countries,鈥� the signatories write. 鈥楾he isolation of Russia from the world means further cultural and technological degradation of our country in the complete absence of positive prospects.鈥�
The scientists call for an immediate halt to military operations in Ukraine, and demand respect 鈥榝or the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Ukrainian state鈥�.
In 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. 鈥楴ow, I鈥檓 afraid, that is no longer possible,鈥� he said.
As news of Russia鈥檚 military operation emerged, the Ukrainian parliament declared a 30-day state of emergency in the country. Responding to the situation, several Ukrainian universities told staff and students to stay at home, with some planning to continue classes online.
Anatoliy Zagorodniy, president of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, released a calling for the nation鈥檚 research community to remain united and keep calm.
The National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (Naukma) that academic activity has ground to a halt as many students and faculty 鈥榟ad to urgently leave their places鈥�, noting that some locations experienced power cuts and have lost access to the internet. The statement appeals to the global academic community to support colleagues in Ukraine.
鈥榃e call [on] universities, academic institutions in Europe and around the world to stand up with Ukraine against [P]utin鈥檚 regime, against ruining the fundamentals of peace, security and democracy in Europe and in the world.鈥�
Naukma has published that it has received from academic institutions across Europe. 鈥榃e are very concerned about the safety of your community, and hope that peace will be back very soon in Ukraine,鈥� wrote Christine Neau-Leduc, president of Panth茅on-Sorbonne University in Paris, France.
Another message from the leaders of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland notes that 鈥楨very war is a black card in the history of humanity and contradicts the universal values held by the academic community.鈥�
Further messages of solidarity have been published by universities and science organisations across Europe. In one, J奴ras Banys, president of the Lithanian Academy of Sciences, that Lithuania had significantly increased funding for collaboration with Ukrainian scientists this year and still plans to do so in future. Referring to Russia鈥檚 attack on Ukraine, he noted: 鈥榃e hope that this madness will end as soon as possible and we will work together to advance science in a peaceful and free world.鈥�
鈥榃e are very concerned about the lives and the well-being of Ukrainian academics and students. The German universities will assist them within the scope of their capabilities,鈥� reads a statement from Peter-Andr茅 Alt, president of the German Rectors鈥� Conference. 鈥業t is also foreseeable that these developments will cause serious damage to German鈥揜ussian academic relations. We will have to examine the relevant consequences in detail.鈥�
As western nations ramp up sanctions on Russia in response to the aggression, Science Business reports that some European politicians have called for from the EU鈥檚 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 .”