More than 600 Russian scientists sign open letter against war with Ukraine
By 
Jamie Durrani2022-02-25T14:30:00
Researchers across Europe declare solidarity with Ukrainian colleagues
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 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 describe the attack is a ‘cynical betrayal’ of previous generations of Russians and Ukrainians who fought together during the second world war.