(Charlie here. I received this open letter from my Ukrainian translator, who I can vouch for. I am republishing it here, in full and unaltered, with permission. I have not fact-checked the contents but have no reason to doubt them. Comments on this blog entry are disabled for reasons that I think should be obvious.)
On Thursday, February 24th the Russian Federation declared war on Ukraine and attacked our country. As we write this letter, the army of the aggressor nation kills our children, bombs cities and civilians, and has already turned more than 835,000 Ukrainians 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.
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 big 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 simple 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 first ones need your encouragement to believe in the power of their voices against Putin's regime. The second ones 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. 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.
Here are ways in which you can help our country:
- 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://donate.redcrossredcrescent.org/ua/donate/~my-donation?_cv=1a
https://ua-aid-centers.com/#features
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.
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.
Publicly denounce any further collaboration with Russia until it stops its aggression.
I will add that the following writers have already supported us by announcing a complete refusal to cooperate with the Russian Federation:
Jakub Ćwiek
Jarosław Grzędowicz
Marcin A. Guzek
Marta Kładź-Kocot
Tomasz Kołodziejczak
Jacek Komuda
Maja Lidia Kossakowska
Marta Barbara Krajewska
Paweł Majka,Tomasz Niziński
Łukasz Orbitowski
Adam Przechrzta
Marcin Podlewski
Arkady Saulski
Cezary Zbierzchowski
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/
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 apologize 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 for your support.
Volodymyr Arenev, writer
Olena Hlushchenko, social activist
Sergij Legeza, translator
Alisa Lindeman, writer, screenwriter
Myhajlo Nazarenko, literary critic
Olena Odynoka, Head of International Cooperation Department, Ukrainian Book Institute
Daria Piskozub, writer
Anatolij Pityk, translator
Kateryna Pityk, translator
Marija Shahury, translator
Bohdan Stasiuk, translator
Switłana Taratorina, writer
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
