Appeal to the scientific and pedagogical workers of the universities of Russia and Belarus

We, scientific and pedagogical workers of the Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute, appeal to you, our colleagues. We know many of you personally, as well as through participation in scientific conferences, through our and your publications. We are people of the same profession. We teach, explore our world, phenomena and processes in nature and society. We are people of the same worldview, the worldview of a scientist and teacher.

Today, all this can be destroyed by the war against Ukraine, which is bombed all over its territory. We appeal to you at the hours and minutes when rocket and bomb strikes destroy EVERYTHING what we have, at the hours and minutes when the occupiers’ multiple launch rocket systems are shelling student dormitories, residential areas of our beloved Kharkiv. Two rockets “came” to our student sports camp. The symbol of Kharkiv — Derzhprom (the State Industry Building), a zoo and a recreation park, recognized as the best in the post-Soviet space, — all this has suffered a missile attacks.

Since February 24, students and teachers, like all Kharkiv residents, have been hiding in the subway, basements and bomb shelters. Civilians are dying, including our students, a lot of wounded. At any time of the day, bombs and rockets are flying at our heads. Our hearts jumps out of our chest from the realization of the depth of today’s tragedy.

We appeal to you, our colleagues, to your conscience and mind to do everything to stop this war. Let’s say together: “NO WAR!”. Our children and grandchildren, our students, our future will not forgive us inaction.

On behalf of students, post-graduate students, doctoral candidates, professors and faculty members of the university the appeal was signed by:

  • Yevgen Sokol — rector of the university Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Laureate of the State Prize of Ukraine in the field of science and technology, Laureate of the Academician Lebedev Prize of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Honorary Doctor of the Georgian Polytechnic University, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor
  • Leonid Tovazhnyanskyy — Honorary Rector of the University, Head of the Academic Council of the University, Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Laureate of the State Prize of Ukraine in the field of science and technology, Honored Worker of Science and Technology of Ukraine, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor
  • Andriy Marchenko — Vice-Rector for Scientific-and-Research Work at the University, Laureate of the State Prize of Ukraine in the field of science and technology, Honored Worker of Science and Technology of Ukraine, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor
  • Georgiy Lisachuk — Head of the Research Department of the University, Laureate of the State Prize of Ukraine in the field of science and technology, Honored Worker of Science and Technology of Ukraine, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor
  • Anatoly Grabchenko — Honorary Doctor of Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute, Honorary Doctor of the Universities of Germany, Hungary, Romania, Laureate of the State Prize of Ukraine in the field of science and technology, Honored Worker of Science and Technology of Ukraine, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor