A letter from Ukrainian artists
to world artists!
Every effort – political, military, social and cultural – is
required to combat the illegitimate war, crimes against
humanity and war crimes currently taking place the Ukraine.
Borys Sidyuk and members* of Ukraine's SF community outline
what the west’s Science Fiction community can do
On Thursday, 24th February 2022, the Russian Federation went to war against Ukraine, invading our country. As we write this letter, the army of the country-aggressor kills our children, bombs cities and civilians, and have turned a few million Ukrainians (yes, 'million'!) into refugees. In an attempt to further occupy our lands, Russia at the same time uses aggressive propaganda to justify its war crimes: Russian citizens are consistently being lied to about what is really happening in Ukraine!
Kakiv City Hall before and after Russian special operations in March 2022
We believe that not all Russian citizens are fans of Putin’s regime and not all of them justify this war. We know that plenty of Russians feel scared to use their voices and speak up against Putin’s regime. Many believe it is none of their business. Yet, there are also many who believe in the righteousness of Putin and his propaganda.
So, we plead with you – writers and visual content creators that have large audiences of readers and followers in Russia. To them, your opinion and your words matter. Your stand on the war in Ukraine matters. Please, stand by us as we fight for our values, our democracy, and our freedom. For the right to be Ukrainians and live in Ukraine. Your powerful voices can influence these Russian readers and followers. To encourage them to be brave, connect with their values, and take a stand on ending this ruthless war.
Please, take to your platforms and address your Russian and Ukrainian audiences. The former need your encouragement to believe in the power of their voices against Putin’s regime. The latter are in desperate need of support and kindness.
We encourage the international community of fans of science fiction & fantasy, writers, artists, editors to boycott the Russian book market until the war in Ukraine ends and the country is free from Russian occupation and until Putin’s regime is condemned as criminal and Putin and his closest allies are punished. As Ukrainians, we are working on this to happen day and night but there are bureaucratic procedures that make the process so much slower in critical times where every second counts and can save Ukrainian lives. So please, take this call to heart.
Here are some other ways in which you can help our country:
1. Please, reroute the funds received from Russia to either of the Ukrainian charity foundations that take care of refugees and restore what was ruined by Russia:
https://eu-ua.com
https://donate.redcrossredcrescent.org
https://ua-aid-centers.com
https://tabletochki.org
https://mirco.com.ua
The National Bank of Ukraine has opened an account for humanitarian aid to Ukrainians affected by Russian aggression. The account will be used to credit charitable assistance from Ukraine and abroad. The Ministry of Social Policy will use the funds raised to provide support to the citizens of Ukraine who suffer the most from the war.
See below…
2. If possible, terminate contracts and collaborations with Russian publishers. Do not let them use the money they earn on publishing your work to fund the war in Ukraine.
3. Publicly denounce any further collaboration with Russia until it stops its aggression.
The following writers have already supported us by announcing a complete refusal to cooperate with the Russian Federation: Stephen King, Neil Geiman, Joe Abercrombie, Rebecca Kuang, Michal Cetnarowski, John Crowley, Jakub Cwiek, Piotr Gociek, Piotr Górski, Jaroslaw Grzedowicz, Marcin A. Guzek, Anna Katoch, Marta Kladz-Kocot, Tomasz Kolodziejczak, Jacek Komuda, Rafal Kosik, Maja Lidia Kossakowska, Marta Barbara Krajewska, Pawel Majka,Tomasz Nizinski, Lukasz Orbitowski, Michal Protasiuk, Adam Przechrzta, Marcin Podlewski, Radek Rak, Magdalena Salik, Arkady Saulski, Wit Szostak, Robert M. Wegner, Cezary Zbierzchowski and Wojciech Zembaty.
It is of paramount importance for these actions to be made public. This will allow your readers to learn about your stand on the war in Ukraine and help those content creators who are still hesitant about condemning Russia’s aggression to take a stand, too.
It goes without saying that either of these actions is an act coming out of free will. We are grateful for any support. We are sure that the war that currently unfolds in the middle of Europe is not only Ukraine’s war. This is the war aimed at undermining and destroying the values of free civilizations. In times of peace, we guard these values via our novels, art, songs. Alas, this is not enough in times of war.
If you are not sure you have enough information to make an informed decision on taking a stand on what is currently happening in Ukraine, please see these resources:
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng
https://kyivindependent.com
https://t.me/ukraine4world
If you have any questions, we are willing to provide you with answers. There can be delays in answering as many of us are often hiding in shelters from active bombing. Others rely on very unstable internet and phone connections while keeping in touch in these days of the war. There can be delays in responses, we apologise in advance.
Also, it is important to note that neither of us, the authors of this letter need any urgent help. It is our country that is in a state of a humanitarian crisis, desperately seeking support and allies.
When taking to your platforms and speaking about Ukraine and war in our country, please use these tags.
#SFaccessdenied
#StopBusinessInrussia
#StopFundTheWar
#StandWithUkraine
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. Thank you in anticipation of your support.
Borys Sidyuk
The National Bank of Ukraine has opened an account for humanitarian aid to Ukrainians affected by Russian aggression. The account will be used to credit charitable assistance from Ukraine and abroad. The Ministry of Social Policy will use the funds raised to provide support to the citizens of Ukraine who suffer the most from the war.
The National Bank`s of Ukraine Accounts:
Multicurrency UA823000010000032302338301027
EUR account: BENEFICIARY: Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine
BENEFICIARY BIC: NBUAUAUXXXX IBAN DE85500000000050002137
PURPOSE OF PAYMENT: for crediting account 32302338301027
BENEFICIARY BANK NAME: DEUTSCHE BUNDESBANK, Frankfurt
BENEFICIARY BANK BIC: MARKDEFF
BENEFICIARY BANK ADDRESS: Wilhelm-Epstein-Strasse 14, 60431 Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
USD account: BENEFICIARY: Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine
BENEFICIARY BIC: NBUA UA UX
BENEFICIARY ADDRESS: 9 Instytutska St, Kyiv, 01601, Ukraine
ACCOUNT NUMBER: 400807238
BENEFICIARY BANK NAME: JP MORGAN CHASE BANK, New York
BENEFICIARY BANK BIC: CHASUS33
ABA 0210 0002 1
BENEFICIARY BANK ADDRESS: 383 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA
PURPOSE OF PAYMENT: for crediting account 32302338301027
GBP account: BENEFICIARY/RECIPIENT NAME: Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine
SORT CODE: 60-92-42
ACCOUNT NUMBER: 0080033041
GB52CHAS60924280033041
REFERENCE FOR CREDITING ACCOUNT: 32302338301027
BENEFICIARY BIC: NBUA UA UX
BENEFICIARY ADDRESS: 9 Instytutska St, Kyiv, 01601, Ukraine
BENEFICIARY BANK NAME: JP MORGAN CHASE BANK NA, London
BENEFICIARY BANK BIC: CHASGB2L
BENEFICIARY BANK ADDRESS: 125 London Wall, London EC2Y 5AJ, UK
JPY account: BENEFICIARY: Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine
BENEFICIARY BIC: NBUA UA UX
BENEFICIARY ADDRESS: 9 Instytutska St, Kyiv, 01601, Ukraine
ACCOUNT NUMBER: 653-0430048
BENEFICIARY BANK NAME: MUFG BANK LTD, Tokyo
BENEFICIARY BANK BIC: BOTK JP JT
BENEFICIARY BANK ADDRESS: 1-2-3, Nihombashi HONGOKU-CHO, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 1003 -0021 Japan
PURPOSE OF PAYMENT: for crediting account 32302338301027
Borys Sidyuk is a member of Ukraine’s SF community. He was a founding member of Kyiv’s Zoryany Shlyah SF Society and a past editor of its zine Chernobylization. Among much else he is an SF con-runner and was on the committee for the 2006 Eurocon in Kyiv. He is also a member of the SF² Concatenation team arranging its Internet Service Provider and sponsor link management.
* Obviously, there has been no SF convention since Russia invaded Ukraine, committing war crimes and crimes against humanity with civilian murder and causing millions to leave their homes, and so no opportunity to compose a formal statement. However, this appeal comes from a group of leading members of Ukraine's SF community that, in addition to Borys, includes: Serhii Paltsun (chair of the Kyiv Portal SF Society and a professor at Kyiv Polytechnic), Volodymyr Arenyev (a major Ukrainian SF writer), Mykhailo Nazarenko (one of Ukraine's main literary critics and an academic at the Kyiv State University), Bohdan Stasiuk (a leading Ukrainian translator of SF), Yuri Shevela (a major Ukrainian SF/F bibliographist), Maryna Sidyuk (translator and editor), as well as a group of activists and fans. This plea can therefore be considered as being representative as coming from the main body of Ukraine's SF community.
See elsewhere on this site:
Summer 2022 News Page's Staff Stuff on Ukraine.
Summer 2022 editorial on SF's response to the Ukraine invasion
The Horror Writers Association condemns Russia’s invasion
The Authors Guild condemns condemns Russia’s invasion
Ukraine to be a guest of the Federation of European Publishers
Michael Swanwick resigns as honorary president of the Russian-based International Union of Writers
Western science publishers are divided over whether to exclude Russian research
ESA’s ExoMars on hold due to Russia’s invasion
The SFWA does not want to take a stand on Russia’s invasion and then Stop press – backtracks
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