Hugs, intensive discussions, exchange of experiences and activism. That's what an IPPNW meeting is about.

Abstract

IPPNW (International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War) is a worldwide organization of physicians and medical students with national a!liates in over 30 countries. It was founded over 40 years ago and is one of the few international NGOs with active members in all the original nuclear weapons states including Russia. IPPNW’s European region had an intensive and successful meeting in Hamburg on 20–22 January 2023 organized by the German a!liate. We were over 40 people from around Europe representing 11 di"erent countries. It was also possible to attend some sessions virtually. Discussion was mainly about the rising threat of nuclear war due to the current war in Ukraine. The Russian government has raised the possibility of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine and the risk of a nuclear war is now greater than it has been for decades. A great worry is also that the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, Zaporižžja, is occupied by Russian forces and there is constant $ghting around that area. This situation could result in a nuclear accident even without use of nuclear warheads. We also discussed the causes of the war in Ukraine and were unanimous about the Russian government’s sole guilt for the unlawful invasion of Ukraine. There was somewhat more variation in opinion as to whether the ‘west’ has some responsibility for not understanding the security worries of Russia, and whether, with some more diplomatic or careful actions during the last decade the escalation could have been avoided. These discussions were very interesting, and the atmosphere was all the time respectful with people listening to each other. We did not publish any statement on this. As most countries represented in Hamburg were NATO countries, or applicants as Finland and Sweden are, there was much discussion about nuclear weapons and nuclear sharing in European NATO countries. NATO de$nes itself as a Nuclear Alliance and bases its doctrine on deterrence. For us