The UK’s Virgin Group has published a call for an end to the Ukraine conflict signed by 16 Russian, Ukrainian and international business leaders.

      “We all have a responsibility to work towards peace in Ukraine, so that people can thrive without putting their basic human rights at risk,” says the statement of the corporation’s official website.

      The leaders have been inspired by the dismantling of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War and are certain that “nobody wants to see a return to those dark days”.

      “The devastating loss of nearly 300 lives in the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight 17 and the continued bloodshed that has killed hundreds on the ground in Ukraine have already caused unimaginable suffering. Nearly a quarter of a century after the end of the Cold War, it looks like we are entering a new era marked by deteriorating relations and armed confrontation. This is not the world that any of us envisioned,” the statement goes on to say.

      The plea was signed by the following leaders:

      Richard Branson – Founder, Virgin Group; Mo Ibrahim – Founder, Mo Ibrahim Foundation; Paul Polman – CEO, Unilever; Jeff Skoll – Founding President, eBay; Ratan Tata – Chairman Emeritus, Tata Sons Ltd; Muhammed Yunus – Nobel Laureate

      Maxim Ivanov – Founder, Foodline Group (Russia); Dennis Ludkovsky – CEO, Svyaznoy Group (Russia); Arkady Novikov – Founder, Novikov Group; Sergey Petrov – Founder, ROLF Group (Russia); Igor Yurgens – President, All-Russian Insurance Association (Russia)

      Jan Koum – Co-Founder and CEO, WhatsApp (Ukraine); Max Levchin – Co-Founder, Paypal (Ukraine); Igor Mazepa – CEO, Concorde Capital (Ukraine); Victor Pinchuk – Founder, EastOne Group (Ukraine); Evgeni Utkin – Chairman and President, KMCORE (Ukraine)

      Virgin Group Ltd. is a British multinational branded venture capital conglomerate founded by entrepreneur Richard Branson.[3] Its core business areas are travel, entertainment and lifestyle, and it also manages ventures in financial services, transport, health care, food and drink, media and telecommunications; together, Virgin's businesses consist of more than 400 companies worldwide.

      Virgin Group's date of incorporation is listed as 1989 by Companies House, who class it as a holding company; however Virgin's business and trading activities date to the 1970s. The net worth of Virgin Group as of September 2008 was £5.01 billion.