Ladies and Gentlemen,

we would like to draw your attention to this appeal of more than 70 Eastern European researchers, writers, former diplomats and politi­cians, histo­rians and security experts.

We call upon citizens, asso­ci­a­tions, companies and the federal govern­ment to join forces to help Ukraine over the coming war winter: with donations, human­i­tarian and technical aid, and with weapons that can be used to protect the civilian popu­la­tion and to push back the Russian troops.

In the light of the massive Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities, the energy supply, indus­trial plants and the infra­struc­ture, Ukraine is facing a winter of darkness, cold and hunger. Since the beginning of the Russian full-scale offensive, already more than 14 million people were forced to leave their homes, millions more are expected to be forced to flee.

If Putin succeeds in driving Ukraine into collapse, the European security system will also break apart. No country within the former influence sphere of the Soviet Union will be safe anymore,
anti-demo­c­ratic powers will gain momentum and inter­na­tional law will count for nothing.

Supporting the Ukrainian resis­tance is not only a moral oblig­a­tion, it is in our very own interest.

Among the initia­tors of this appeal are Gerd Koenen, Karl Schlögel, Daniel Cohn-Bendit, Ralf Fücks, Ulrich Schreiber, Katharina Raabe, Thomas Roth, Marieluise Beck, Claus Leggewie, Bruno Schoch and Manfred Sapper.

Ralf Fücks

Zentrum Liberale Moderne

Ulrich Schreiber

Inter­na­tionales Liter­atur­fes­tival Berlin

The Moment is Now

Helping Ukraine Through This Winter of War

The infamy is still increasing. After Putin’s plan to mili­tarily disinti­grate Ukraine and to anni­hi­late it as an inde­pen­dent nation failed, because of the deter­mined resis­tance, carried out by Ukrainian society as a whole, now the country is to be brought to its knees by destroying vital supply structures,
espe­cially the power supply.

The methods of a war of anni­hi­la­tion against the civilian popu­la­tion, tested in Chechnya and Syria, with Grozny and Aleppo as an example, are now being applied to a free Ukraine as a whole. The bombing of housing quarters, the targeted destruc­tion of the living condi­tions of millions of people, the assas­si­na­tion of civilians, rapes and depor­ta­tions, are already viola­tions of the Genocide Conven­tion of the United Nations.

Now, winter is coming. One can already see what it means when heating, light and elec­trical appli­ances aren’t working anymore, when there is no drinking water, windows cannot be replaced, when cities are sinking into darkness, schools and kinder­gartens have to close, hospitals can’t treat their patients and companies have to close down. Since the renewed Russian assault, already more than 14 million people had to leave their homes, millions more are to be forced to flee.

If Putin succeeded in causing the collapse of Ukraine, it could also desta­bi­lize the European security order, the European Union and the transat­lantic alliance. No country within the former influence sphere of the Soviet Union would be safe anymore, it would give a boost to anti-demo­c­ratic forces, and Inter­na­tional Law would be in ruins.

For that reason, supporting the Ukrainian civilian and military resis­tance is not only a moral oblig­a­tion, it is also in our very own interest.

How can we contribute to Ukraine getting through this winter?

• Everyone can donate for Ukraine.
• Human­i­tarian agencies can increase their support for Ukraine.
• Cities can provide bilateral support for Ukrainian partner cities.
• Companies can provide vital technical support, like gener­a­tors, vehicles, building materials and fuel.
• The federal govern­ment and the EU need to increase their financial and military aid: Ukraine requires urgent emergency aid and, no less urgent, modern weapons to protect its cities and to push back the invading troops.

On 10 December, we celebrate the Intern­tional Human Rights Day, to honour the adoption and procla­ma­tion of the Universal Decla­ra­tion of Human Rights on that day in 1948. These days, we are espe­cially thinking about the people fighting for their dignity and their freedom in Ukraine and also in Iran.
We want to follow up on the wave of soli­darity that swept through our country after the beginning of the Russian invasion. Munic­i­pal­i­ties, the media, foun­da­tions, care organ­i­sa­tions, companies, cultural
insti­tutes and hundreds of thousands of citizens have reacted to what appeared to be the unthink­able since the end of the Second World War. We need to revive this spirit of soli­darity, regard­less of all the hardships we are facing. Nothing would be more dangerous for Ukraine than a gradually increasing weariness of the Western public and politics.

Putin’s cata­strophic strategy may not bear fruits! The slogan „For our and for your freedom“, as quoted by Nobel Peace Price laureate Olek­sandra Matvi­ichuk, also applies the other way round: „For your and our freedom!“

Donations

should best be made to one of the existing initia­tives or into the national donation fund UNITED24, estab­lished by Volodymyr Zelenskyy: https://u24,gov.ua/

Initial signa­to­ries:

Swetlana Alex­i­je­w­itsch, Aleida Assmann, Jan Assmann, Martin Aust, Rüdiger Bachmann, Gerhart Baum, Marieluise Beck, Christoph Becker, Jan C. Behrends, Pamela Biermann, Wolf Biermann, Marianne Birthler, Helene v. Bismarck, Werner Bohleber, Christoph Buch, Detlev Claussen, Dany Cohn-Bendit, Dan Diner, Sabine Döring, Tom Enders, Benno Ennker, Bianka Pietrow-Ennker, Sabine Fischer, Rüdiger v. Fritsch, Ralf Fücks, Durs Grünbein, Irene Hahn-Fuhr, Rebecca Harms, Andreas Heinemann-Grüder, Ulrike Herrmann, Richard Herzinger, Christoph Heusgen, Wolfgang Ischinger, Andreas Kappeler, Daniel Kehlmann, Gerald Knaus, Gerd Koenen, John Kornblum, Remko Leemhuis, Claus Leggewie, Anna Leszczynska, Sabine Leutheusser-Schnar­ren­berger, Marianne Leuzinger-Bohleber, Renate Liesmann-Baum, Wolf Lotter, Carlo Masala, Markus Meckel, Eva Menasse, Herta Müller, Jan Plamper, Ruprecht Polenz, Katharina Raabe, Jens Reich, Eva Reich, Hedwig Richter, Thomas Roth, Manfred Sapper, Gwendolyn Sasse, Stefanie Schiffer, Karl Schlögel, Peter Schneider, Bruno Schoch, Ulrich Schreiber, Richard Schröder, Martin Schulze Wessel, Linn Selle, Constanze Stelzenmüller, Sebastian Turner, Andreas Umland, Gert Weis­skirchen, Michael Zürn