The Publications Division of the American Chemical Society (ACS) joined over a dozen publishers today in signing a letter condemning the war in Ukraine and announcing the suspension of sales and marketing of products and services to research organizations in Russia and Belarus. While ACS Publications believes that the free flow of communications about research and collaboration has no borders or boundaries, it has decided to show solidarity with the people of Ukraine.
The full letter with signatories is available here.
ACS Publications has presently ceased all commercial sales of products and services to Russian research organizations. In addition, article publishing charge payments from Russian organizations for open access articles in any of ACS' more than 75 journals will no longer be accepted.
Although ACS Publications is taking action on commercial sales and services, it will continue to support science by maintaining existing editorial policies relating to papers submitted to its journals. This is in keeping with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines that state: "Editorial decisions should not be affected by the origins of the manuscript, including the nationality, ethnicity, political beliefs, race, or religion of the authors."
In related actions, ACS Publications will continue to provide free access to ACS journals to Ukrainian researchers throughout 2022 via Research4Life. Also, ACS has waived dues for members in Ukraine and has sought their advice on other ways to support those impacted by the war. Additional information is available at www.acs.org/Ukraine.
