International Physicians
for the Prevention of Nuclear War

IPPNW Responds to Crisis in Ukraine

IPPNW Germany Students during the #BikefortheBan weekend

The war in Ukraine is causing death, destruction, unfolding chaos and a wave of desperate refugees. The danger is all the greater because of Ukraine’s 15 nuclear power reactors which are attempting to operate safely in a war zone. A meltdown at any one of them could cause a disastrous release of radiation.

Even more worrisome, nuclear saber rattling on both sides raises the specter of the fighting escalating to the use of nuclear weapons. On 24 February, Russian President warned anyone “who stands in our way…they must know that Russia will respond immediately, and the consequences will be such as you have never seen in your entire history.” To which, the French Foreign Minister Le Drian responded, “Putin should understand that NATO also has nuclear weapons.”

A single nuclear weapon detonated over any of the great cities of Europe would kill hundreds of thousands of people. A nuclear war between NATO and Russia would kill tens of millions outright and could trigger enough climate disruption to cause a global famine.

IPPNW’s global federation of health professionals and our partners have worked diligently to promote peace and warn decision-makers and the general public of the humanitarian disaster that would follow any use of nuclear weapons. See just a few resources below [last updated: 22 March 2022].

For more information, contact us at ippnwbos@ippnw.org.

IPPNW Statements

As Nobel Peace Prize Laureates we reject war and nuclear weapons. We call on all our fellow citizens of
the world to join us in protecting our planet, home for all of us, from those who threaten to destroy it. The invasion of Ukraine has created a humanitarian disaster for its people. The entire world is facing the greatest threat in history: a large-scale nuclear war, capable of destroying our civilization and causing
vast ecological damage across the Earth. Read the full statement signed by 12 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates.

Representing doctors, public health professionals and medical students worldwide, we call for an immediate cease fire and the withdrawal of all invading and occupying military forces and an urgent negotiated end to the current war in Ukraine. The alarmingly acute and growing danger of nuclear escalation must be reversed and nuclear war prevented by the urgent elimination of nuclear weapons. Read more [available in English and Swedish].

We call for an immediate cease-fire, respect for international humanitarian and human rights law, and remind the P-5, including the Russian Federation, of the joint statement they signed on January 3rd 2022: a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought. Read more.

We at IPPNW Canada join our mother and sister organizations around the world in calling for the immediate end to this naked aggression, wholly initiated by Russia. Our hearts and hopes for peace go out to the Ukrainian people. Read more. 

Worldwide and in Switzerland, the Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War IPPNW demand that President Putin and those states that have nuclear weapons systems unconditionally renounce their use.

Even a limited nuclear war would have catastrophic consequences locally, but also worldwide. In addition to millions of people directly affected in life and limb, a global nuclear winter lasting for years could be expected, which would mean famine for billions of people. Read more. 

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues, leading to human casualties. And in the case of escalation of the conflict it may cause more severe consequences, involvement of other countries, nuclear facilities and even nuclear confrontation. Read more.

Resources & Articles

The crisis in Eastern Europe has become a humanitarian catastrophe. IPPNW hosted an emergency briefing on 19 February with a distinguished panel of experts to examine the terrible human cost if diplomacy fails.
The experts’ remarks are outlined below, topics include conventional war, damage to nuclear power reactors, and escalation to nuclear weapons. Read more.

“Nuclear war has repeatedly been avoided by good luck, not good management. The only durable way to avoid nuclear weapons being used is to eliminate them.” by Dr. Tilman Ruff, IPPNW Co-President. Read more. 

In the near term, it is essential that leaders refrain from exacerbating tensions by implying that such weapons have a military purpose and that immediate steps are taken to reduce the risks of miscommunication and error potentially leading to tragedy on a vast scale. NATO and Russia must explicitly renounce any use of nuclear weapons in the conflict in Ukraine. They must join with the other nuclear armed states, at the earliest possible moment, in support of the aims of the TPNW, to commence negotiations for the complete, verifiable elimination of all nuclear weapons. Read more. 

Eleven years ago, the multiple disasters at Fukushima led to the realization in Germany that nuclear energy cannot be operated safely anywhere. For the medical organization IPPNW, the Ukraine war shows once again the urgent need to become independent of nuclear energy and fossil fuels. The four Ukrainian nuclear power plants with a total of 15 reactor units pose a major threat to life and health. Read more. 

It is imperative that the current crisis be resolved by diplomatic means. It is equally imperative that the nuclear armed nations learn from this dangerous situation and act to eliminate the danger of nuclear war in a definitive fashion by promptly beginning negotiations for the complete elimination of these weapons, as advocated by the Back from the Brink campaign, so that they all come into compliance with the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Read more. 

IPPNW leaders and co-founders featured in the Boston Globe for life-long advocacy efforts. Read more.

Dr. Vendela Englund Burnett, IPPNW Sweden (SLMK) Board Chair, was recently featured in an interview with the Swedish Medical Journal. “Our medical responsibility is to prevent it from ever happening,” stated Vendela. Vendela talked about the recent SLMK report Prevent What Cannot be Cured (Förebygga är enda medicinen), and Russia’s aggression and threat to use nuclear weapons. Learn more.

IPPNW leaders in the United States, Russia, and beyond remain committed to IPPNW’s founding mission to foster medical and scientific dialogue across ideological and geographic divides. Learn more.

Videos
Act Now 

Add your name to the growing number of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates and citizens of the world against war and nuclear weapons.

We call for an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of all Russian military forces from Ukraine, and for all possible efforts at dialogue to prevent this ultimate disaster.

We call on Russia and NATO to explicitly renounce any use of nuclear weapons in this conflict, and we call on all countries to support the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons to ensure that we never again face a similar moment of nuclear danger. Read more.