Today, the 20th of February 2024, marks the beginning of an entire decade of Russia’s war against Ukraine, while Saturday the 24th of February marks two years of the full-scale invasion. Following the Euromaidan demonstrations, Russia’s war of aggression began in February 2014 with the occupation of the Crimean peninsula and later annexation, and the war in the Donbas, without much opposition or notice taken by Europe. We reach out to our colleagues and fellow Eurodoccers from the Young Scientists Council of Ukraine, and we join them in commemorating the half million dead, the millions of injured, and all further victims of the war. We think about the more than 10 million refugees and internally displaced people. And as academics, we think of our peers – like the 44 Ukrainian displaced higher education institutions, with their professors and students, researchers and staff scattered.
On this day, our hearts go out to our colleagues and friends, and to all the people of Ukraine: it marks a decade of them going through war, a decade of dying, a decade of suffering and grief.
And on this day, we have one single request for our partners and for you reading this text:
Let us not forget what is happening in Ukraine. Let us continue our support!
Signed and written in the personal capacity of:
- Sebastian Dahle, Eurodoc President - https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7568-0483
- Pil Maria Saugmann, Eurodoc Vice President- https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3548-0134
- Hannah Schoch, Eurodoc Secretary - https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3987-4106
- Aleksandra Lewandowska, Eurodoc General Board Member - https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7762-2890
- Sara Pilia, Eurodoc General Board Member - https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8221-3082