Statement of solidarity with Ukraine

On 24 February 2022 Russian troops crossed the border with Ukraine in what the Russian government described as a ‘special military operation’ to ‘liberate’ Ukrainians from supposed oppression by ‘Nazis’ and ‘thugs.’ As now know, this ‘operation’ was intended, it seems, to overthrow the current Ukrainian government, replace it with a more compliant régime and, through the display of military force, to cow Ukrainians into submission. It hardly needs to be said that we condemn this disgraceful action by the Russian government.

In a fast changing situation, it would be foolish to anticipate the eventual outcome. Currently, peace talks are underway, and we can only hope that this pointless violence will be quickly brought to an end and an equitable solution can be found. At present we can only express our admiration for the enormous bravery of Ukrainians in facing down this appalling aggression.

Ukraine has not been central to the focus of the CRAACE project – although it has featured in our events and we have previously written about it on this blog; see here – but members of the CRAACE team have friends and colleagues in Ukraine, and we therefore feel we have an especial obligation to show our support for them and for Ukraine more generally.

Members of the CRAACE team have already contributed to humanitarian support programmes to mitigate the effects on civilian populations of the invasion. We shall continue to do so, and encourage everyone who is reading this statement to find ways of providing assistance.

If you wish to provide support, you can find relevant links here:

Masaryk University: https://munipomaha.cz/en

A list of further relevant Czech organisations: https://www.pomahejukrajine.cz/

People in Need: https://www.peopleinneed.net/

Train of Hope, Vienna: http://www.trainofhope.at/_www_/

Caritas: https://www.caritas.at

Hungarian Helsinki Committee: https://helsinki.hu/

Budapest Bike Maffia: https://www.facebook.com/budapestbikemaffia