Thursday, 26 May 2022 20:04

Letter of Ukrainian mathematicians

  • Author(s): Yuriy Drozd, Rostyslav Hryniv, Olena Karlova, Sergiy Maksymenko,

Dear Editor,

On behalf of Ukrainian mathematicians, we would like to thank the EMS for the statement of solidarity published on March 2. At the same time, we are disappointed by the fact that the corporate membership of the two Russian mathematical societies, Moscow and St. Petersburg, wasn’t suspended.

The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine has been going on for almost a month. Every new day brings immense suffering and losses. The Russian troops destroy our country, they bomb hospitals, kindergartens, schools, and universities. The cruelty against civilians leaves us breathless.

We are aware of the individual protests of the Russian mathematicians against the war. We appreciate the courage of those Russian colleagues who expressed their anti-war position publicly. Nevertheless, the majority of the Russian population continues to support the genocide against Ukrainian people. They are being spoiled by the mass media propaganda and cut from credible sources of information. In these conditions, it is important to reach the Russian people by all possible means, especially through the cultural and academic communities who may influence the public opinion in the country.

There are no messages about the war and expressions of solidarity with the victims at the web pages of the Mathematical Societies of Moscow and St. Petersburg. The learned societies in Russia continue to function as if nothing has happened. At the same time, rectors of all Russian universities signed the infamous letter supporting the invasion of the Russian troops in Ukraine. Publicly, the academic community in Russia is demonstrating support for the criminal actions of the Russian government.

On March 6 a number of Ukrainian mathematicians wrote a letter to the leadership of the EMS asking them to suspend the corporate membership of the two Russian mathematical societies. So far only the membership of the Euler International Mathematical Institute was interrupted.

Therefore, we call once again for the suspension of the membership of the Moscow and St. Petersburg Mathematical Societies in EMS and request the EMS Magazine to publish this open letter.

Kind regards,

Yuriy Drozd, President of the Ukrainian Mathematical Society

Rostyslav Hryniv, President of the Lviv Mathematical Society

Olena Karlova, President of the Chernivtsi Mathematical Society

Sergiy Maksymenko, President of the Kyiv Mathematical Society