Five scientists from United States, England and Canada have signed a open letter for the western scientific community. In it, it is requested that the russian scientists for his country’s behavior in the Ukraine war. They point out that, if these researchers are left aside, the entire planet would suffer the consequences, because the scientific and technological advances in which they participate are interrupted.
In the letter, which has just been published in ScienceThey also make clear their rejection of the activities of Vladimir Putin. “Russian President Vladimir Putin’s brutal and unprovoked war against Ukraine deserves all the opprobrium he has received around the world.” However, they consider it a mistake that their Russian scientific colleagues pay for the atrocities of his president.
They also urge to continue protecting and giving opportunities to ukrainian scientistsbut without this implying sanction researchers from its neighboring country. Finally, they take it upon themselves to recall that many Russian scientists have publicly condemned the invasion of Ukraine. For this reason, it would not be fair for them to also suffer international sanctions on their country.
Solidarity with Russian scientists
The letter that has just been published is signed by John Holdenfrom the University of Cambridge, Nina Feodorofffrom the Pennsylvania State University, neal lanefrom Rice University, Nick Talbotfrom the Sainsbury Laboratory, and Toby Spribillefrom the University of Alberta.
In it they recall that there are currently many Russian scientists immersed in international projects. Due to the international sanctions against Russia, many of them could lose your visa and return to your country. This would entail logical inconveniences for them, but also for the rest of the researchers who work with them in other countries.
For this reason, they request that the option of including to Russian institutions and scientists in the sanctions imposed as punishment on Putin. The truth is that all this contrasts with the decisions being made by one of the most important scientific institutions in Russia: its space agency.
From Roscosmosits manager, Dmitry Rogozin, has voluntarily broken off collaboration on a large number of international projects. At the moment it only seems to keep his role in the International Space Station. It is true that at first they threatened to abandon the astronaut who is due to return to Earth on March 30 in a Soyuz spacecraft. However, it was denied that something like this was really going to be done and he made sure that it was all a joke.
Yes, they have stopped their supply of rocket motors to NASA, they have severed their ties with ESA ahead of the launch of the ExoMars mission. They have also withdrawn the rockets that would be used to power a batch of OneWeb satellites and have stopped collaborating with the Icarus project, which uses an antenna located on the Russian side of the European Space Agency to monitor the movements of animals on Earth. In addition, its staff have been withdrawn from the Kourou European Spaceportin French Guiana.
These are also russian scientists. However, in their case they have been the ones who have decided to break with international collaboration. What they intend in the letter that has just been published in Science is that those who condemn what happened in Russia do not pay for something with which they do not even agree. In short, it is intended that science follow its path and disassociate itself from any war conflict. Those are their wishes, now we will have to see what the answer is.