LONDON (Dispatches) -- Some 14 Nobel laureates have signed an open petition calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Ukraine war and for those suffering its impact to receive humanitarian aid.
The laureates, who include Barry Barish, Giorgio Parisi and Andre Geim, warn that the escalation in words and military action towards nuclear weapons has “brought Europe much closer” to their use.
The petition – so far signed by over 800 people – was initiated by the DESY particle physicist Hannes Jung as well as organizations such as the Science4Peace Forum and the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement. In it they say that scientists cannot remain silent with the increasing threat of nuclear war.
“Any nuclear attack from any side will create responses and retaliations from other nuclear powers and in a short time millions of people could be killed, huge areas of land and sea destroyed and contaminated,” they write.
Other Nobel-prize-winning physicists to sign the letter include Takaaki Kajita, Gerardus ‘t Hooft and Michel Mayor.
The laureates and signatories call on politicians and leaders to immediately stop any verbal escalation when it comes to the use of nuclear weapons; to make sure that scientific advice is considered when making decision; and to remember the “inferno” that occurred during the Second World War when nuclear bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
They also call on governments, especially nuclear powers, to publicly declare that they subscribe to the “no-first-use policy” for nuclear weapons and that they join the United Nations’ Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons if they are not already members.
Jung told Physics World that further
escalation in the war in Ukraine increases the risk that “one of the parties sees no other way” than to use nuclear weapons.
“Even without the explicit use of nuclear weapons, there are nuclear power plants under fire, and the risk for a nuclear catastrophe is increasing the longer this war continues,” he adds. “We believe that scientists must speak up and warn of the enormous risks and we hope, that our voice as scientists together with Nobel laureates will be heard and taken seriously.”
Putin Ally Warns of Nuclear War
Viktor Medvedchuk, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has issued a stark warning over the possibility of a nuclear war breaking out in Europe.
Medvedchuk, a pro-Kremlin Ukrainian oligarch who was released by Kyiv in a prisoner swap with Russia in September 2022, made the remarks in a wide-ranging article for Izvestia, a daily broadsheet newspaper in Russia.
In the article, published on Monday, Medvedchuk began by saying that the Ukraine war, launched on February 24, 2022, was “not limited to Ukraine” and affected “many countries.”
He suggested that Ukraine’s European allies could, by supporting Kyiv, bring the conflict closer to home.
“It is no longer Europe that teaches Ukraine politics, but Ukraine teaches Europe how to achieve economic decline and poverty with the help of a policy of hatred and intransigence,” said Medvedchuk. “And if Europe continues to continue this policy, it will be dragged into a war, possibly into a nuclear one.”
Putin said in September 2022 that Russia was prepared to use nuclear weapons to defend its “territorial integrity.” The topic is still regularly discussed on Russian state TV.
Medvedchuk said he sees only two ways out of the current war, which is now in its 11th month.
“And now there are only two ways out: to slide into a world war and a nuclear conflict, or to start the process of detente again, for which it is necessary to take into account the interests of all parties,” he said. “But for this, it is necessary to recognize politically that Russia has interests, that they must be taken into account in the construction of a new detente.”
“And most importantly, play honestly, do not deceive anyone, do not let in fog and do not try to make money on someone else’s blood,” Medvedchuk added. “But if the world political system is not capable of elementary decency, blinded by pride and its own mercantile interests, then even more difficult times await us.”
According to Medvedchuk, the war could spread to Europe and other countries, or it will be “localized and resolved” if the West forces Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to comply to Russia’s demands.
Russia is demanding international recognition of its proclaimed annexation of four partially occupied territories in eastern Ukraine.
“How can it be resolved if the party of war reigns supreme in Ukraine, whipping up military hysteria, which has already gone beyond the borders of the country, and for some reason the West stubbornly calls it democracy?” Medvedchuk asked.