It is for the 9th day that the invasion, unseen for its cruelty and cynicism, has been continuing of independent Ukraine by the troops of the Russian Federation. For the fifth day, Ukrainian soldiers and civilians have been fighting the enemy heroically, defending basic democratic values and their rights to determine their own fate.
These days, the international community has finally begun to do what it should have done long ago: put aggressive Russia outside the limits of the civilized world, transforming it into a pariah state. We are voicing the following message: not only have leading Russian academic institutions failed to condemn the aggression, but they have also been making great contributions to improving the weapons and military technology with which the Ukrainians are being killed today.
We appreciate the courageous stance of some Russian scientists who had the effrontery to urge their government to condemn this criminal madness. Now, we appeal to the global academic community: the official scientific institutions of the Russian Federation, in particular, its leading universities and the Russian Academy of Sciences bearing their own share of responsibility for the policy of the evil empire of President Putin, are subject to an unconditional boycott.
We urge that researchers with an affiliation of such institutions not be admitted to international grant teams, not be invited to international conferences, and not be published in leading international scientific journals. We strongly assert that any joint academic projects and conferences with such institutions are absolutely inadmissible and cannot be morally justified, all the more so those realized and held on the territory of the Russian Federation.
We believe that the solidarity of the international community will allow free and independent Ukraine to withstand and survive these tragic times.