Mayors for Peace call for end to Ukraine war

Nagasaki1945_San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive_WikiM

As we approach a year since the February 24, 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russia, Mayors for Peace has called for an end to the war, especially given the dangers of it escalating into a conflict that includes the use of nuclear weapons.

In a statement released this week, the mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, representing the worldwide network, wrote:

“Russia’s repeated threats to use nuclear weapons, which began immediately following the invasion, sent shivers throughout the globe and people were left to face a harsh truth: the imminent likelihood of nuclear war. Yet in response, the dangerous theory of nuclear deterrence, which attempts to justify the existence of such weapons, has only gained further momentum. This year, the Doomsday Clock was reset to 90 seconds to midnight. It is the closest the clock has ever come to potential human annihilation, highlighting the unprecedented global danger we now face.”

The mayors reminded the world of “the absolute evil and unacceptable violation of human dignity,” that occurred in 1945 with the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, something they said “must never, ever be repeated.” And yet, they said, “The risk of creating another Hiroshima and Nagasaki is looming now.”

(Photo of Nagasaki in 1945 from the San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive/Wikimedia Commons)

Read the full statement

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