We, scholars and academics, declare our solidarity with the people of Ukraine and its duly elected government in the face of an unjustified military aggression on the part of the President and Government of the Russian Federation. This totally unjustified and immoral aggression not only has created a human tragedy but serves to undermine the very foundations of the system of international security and international law. The responsibility for unleashing a new war in Europe lies entirely with the Russian President and the Russian Government.

There is no rational or moral justification for this war.  It tears apart lives.  It destroys the futures of not just Ukrainians who are suffering at this moment but those of many other nations, including ordinary Russians who are bemused by the actions of their own government.  This action endangers global peace and with it the possibility that humankind can, just possibly, focus on the existential threat to our species and the planet on which we live.

We call for the immediate end of hostilities by the Russian military.  We call for the United Nations Security Council and all major governments to put the utmost pressure on those responsible for, and complicit with, the decision to invade Ukraine to reverse their decision to engage in this immoral.  No one should be allowed to profit -- economically or politically -- from its continuation and the future of humanity must be based on the resolution of conflicts between countries peacefully, however difficult that may be or seem.