On 24 March, Russia declared war on Ukraine. The effects of the invasion were felt in many areas – and the scientific community is no exception. Among the sanctions aimed at Russia, the EU has decided to sever scientific ties as a way to use science as a diplomatic, ‘soft power’ tool against Moscow. One of the measures involves cutting payment to Russian participants in the Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe research programmes. In addition, numerous higher education institutions severed their official ties with their counterparts in Russia.

The Executive Board of the European Chemical Society has released a statement condemning the invasion of Ukraine and expressing solidarity with Ukrainians. As an international society, EuChemS firmly believes in peaceful, global scientific cooperation, and calls upon leaders of Europe and the world to halt violence.

You can read the full statement here.

A LinkedIn group has been created to share job vacancies, educational opportunities, or any other initiatives for Ukrainians among members of the European chemistry community. The goal of this group is to support students and researchers working in the chemical sciences from Ukraine, and to maintain international scientific cooperation.

If you, or your network has any opportunities for Ukrainian scientists, we invite you to join the group.

Alongside EuChemS, numerous other scientific organisations condemned the unprovoked attack, including The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) and the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), whom, amongst many others, released statements on the issue. In addition, 168 Nobel laureates also signed an open letter expressing their support for Ukraine.