A Statement from the Global Virus Network on the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine

BALTIMORE, MD, March 2, 2022: The Global Virus Network (GVN), of which the University of Maryland School of Medicine's Institute of Human Virology is a member, is an apolitical global organization comprised of the world’s leading scientists, including those from Russia and Ukraine, who specialize in education and research for the purpose of protecting mankind from viral proliferation and viruses that cause pandemics. The scientists of the Global Virus Network collaborate to alleviate the pain and suffering caused by viral pathogens and to mitigate the threat they pose to mankind.

The members of the Global Virus Network are motivated by the fundamental tenet of medicine; “to do no harm” and are dedicated to honoring the sanctity of life irrespective of culture, ethnicity, nationality, or race. We are scientists, not politicians, but we are compelled to raise our voices in unison to protest the invasion and wanton destruction of Ukrainian cities and the savage killing of innocent civilians and members of the military who are defending their Homeland in the name of freedom and autonomy. They seek only peace. Mr. Putin, grant them peace. Mr. Putin, cease the armed hostilities immediately and enter into negotiations conducted in accord with respect for human life and dignity. We are committed to universal moral principles that govern the humane treatment of human beings and dictate the norms of civilized relations between nations. The current invaders of Ukraine are not exempted from the unequivocal adherence to these principles, for all members of humanity, “are not islands separate and apart, but part of the main.” Mr. Putin, stop the aggression now!

In the spirit of interconnectedness, we urge the combatants to cease hostilities and engage in negotiations to peacefully resolve their armed conflict. May this war in which the bitterest enmities have been invoked, be terminated with “malice toward none and justice for all.” May the sacrifices and suffering already endured be an impetus for peace, and may our common humanity provide the moral imperative by which the sanctity of life and human dignity take precedence over the bristling antagonisms which provided an incitement to force.

Let peace not be cast as a victory or defeat for either side, but as a triumph of morality arrived at by ethical individuals acting on behalf of their respective nations. When morality emerges as victorious, we can rest assured that mankind endures and prevails as the ultimate beneficiary.

About the Global Virus Network (GVN)

The Global Virus Network (GVN) is essential and critical in the preparedness, defense and first research response to emerging, exiting and unidentified viruses that pose a clear and present threat to public health, working in close coordination with established national and international institutions. It is a coalition comprised of eminent human and animal virologists from 68 Centers of Excellence and ten Affiliates in 36 countries worldwide, working collaboratively to train the next generation, advance knowledge about how to identify and diagnose pandemic viruses, mitigate, and control how such viruses spread and make us sick, as well as develop drugs, vaccines and treatments to combat them. No single institution in the world has expertise in all viral areas other than the GVN, which brings together the finest medical virologists to leverage their individual expertise and coalesce global teams of specialists on the scientific challenges, issues and problems posed by pandemic viruses. The GVN is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. For more information, please visit www.gvn.org. Follow us on Twitter @GlobalVirusNews

About the Institute of Human Virology

Formed in 1996 as a partnership between the State of Maryland, the City of Baltimore, the University System of Maryland, and the University of Maryland Medical System, the IHV is an institute of the University of Maryland School of Medicine and is home to some of the most globally-recognized and world-renowned experts in all of virology. The IHV combines the disciplines of basic research, epidemiology, and clinical research in a concerted effort to speed the discovery of diagnostics and therapeutics for a wide variety of chronic and deadly viral and immune disorders, most notably HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. For more information, visit ihv.org and follow us on Twitter @IHVmaryland.