Chair's Address Regarding the Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Dear Penn REES Community,

 

I wanted to reach out to acknowledge how devastated everyone is feeling with President Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine.  It is surely a tragic decision with far-reaching consequences.  It will lead to very significant loss of life and property destruction in Ukraine.  It will lead to significant demoralization also in Russia, where much of the population will abhor such a brutal and unprovoked act.  And it will lead Russia to be further isolated from the West as a result of sanctions and security preparations.  It has had further reverberations on all Russia’s neighbors and on all European states.

 

It is hard to see anything good coming from this.  We wish all our colleagues, family, and friends in Ukraine and the broader REES region to get through this time safely and with minimal disruption.  We also urge everyone to continue to serve as interpreters or translators of the REES region to the rest of the world, which may need us more than ever.

 

Yours truly,

 

Mitchell A Orenstein

Professor and Chair