Prof. Arūnas Valiulis. From personal archives.
Political, economic and social conditions in Ukraine continue to be the subject of sustained international attention around the world. Lithuanians feel the same about this country and its people. They support Ukraine economically, politically and diplomatically emphasising the sentiment that the international community will not tolerate aggressive actions against sovereign states. Dr Arūnas Valiulis, a professor at the Faculty of Medicine of Vilnius University, President of the Labour Council of Vilnius University, has been actively contributing to the support for Ukrainians since the beginning of the war. He agreed to tell us about the initiative that he has undertaken together with like-minded colleagues.
Professor, this is the second year of the campaign initiated by you and your colleagues to support the families of Ukrainian soldiers who are still fighting or have perished. Please tell us how this initiative came about and what important work has already been done?
In the first year of the war in Ukraine everyone talked about supporting the front – artillery shells, bulletproof vests, unmanned aerial vehicles, etc. However, the issue of whether there would be enough sufficiently motivated volunteers, whether every Ukrainian family would be willing to make sacrifices for victory on the front line, or feel that they were also as vital and valued in this war as the soldiers, was just as important. That is why we launched a campaign for the direct support of the families of Ukrainian soldiers. The families are selected by our colleagues who work across the regions of Ukraine. Many of them, starting from 2019, had previously been training at the Vilnius University Faculty of Medicine (VU MF) within the EU Eastern Partnership Framework.
We started with personal donations, which were paid directly to the soldier’s mothers or spouses. Later, we invited doctors’ professional organisations to join in. It just happened that the paediatrician associations were most responsive to our call. This should perhaps come as no surprise, since the support was primarily aimed at families with small children. There were, for instance, families of fallen soldiers with perhaps five children having to survive without the breadwinner. The European Academy of Paediatrics (EAP/UEMS-SP) and Public Institution Testas from Klaipėda, in Lithuania, also made significant contributions. More than EUR 100,000 was raised for direct support to families of soldiers. I would like to thank Assoc. Prof. Algirdas Valiulis and Prof. Vaidotas Urbonas of VU MF, alumnus Dr Marius Zolubas and the project’s partner in Ukraine, Dr Tetiana Holub. The support is ongoing and has previously been reported on. (Note: you can read more about the campaign, now in its second year, here).
This year, you launched a new project – the Dignity Scholarships for medical students studying in Ukraine – as part of your ongoing support for Ukraine. Please tell us more about this initiative. What institutions or organisations are you working with and who else is involved in this initiative?
On the Day of the Restoration of Independence of Lithuania, important for all Lithuanians, we launched a new support project as part of our respect for the Ukrainian people. We have established one-off Dignity Scholarships for medical students studying at Ukrainian universities who have lost a parent to the war. In each university, depending on the distance from the front line, there might be one or two to a dozen such students. We started with Poltava State Medical University, which had six medical students who had lost at least one of their parents in the war. In this project, we are trying to emphasise not the financial side, but the side of gratitude and respect for the Ukrainian people. The Dignity Scholarship Project is supported by the IPOKRaTES Lithuania Foundation, with 50% of the registration fees collected in Lithuania at the postgraduate training events we organise for doctors and nurses. For example, over 1,000 participants registered for the recent teleconference The School and Children’s Health 2024, all of whom became participants in the project. More information about the project is available here.
Students attending Poltava State Medical University were awarded Dignity Scholarships. Pictured here, together with Vice-Rector Prof. Valeriy Pokhylko. Photo from personal archive.
Did you have a chance to find out more from the recipients of the Dignity Scholarships? Could you share some of their stories?
Yes, I did have the opportunity to talk to some of the students in more depth. Each of their stories is unique but equally tragic. For example, the story of Valeria whose father, Oleksandr Fedorchenko, defended Ukraine in the east of the country from as early as 2014, and was posthumously awarded the Hero of Ukraine honour. The father of another student named Kiril, was abroad when the Russian invasion began in 2022 but returned to his country and volunteered for the front, where he was killed shortly after. Kiril shared his memories of being with his mother and father at the seaside in Kherson – simple memories of a peaceful life, that he tries to keep in his heart. Dignity Scholarships are awarded not only to students in Ukraine whose parents perished at the front, but also whose parents have died in the attacks on towns and villages.
This latest project was launched on the eve of the Day of the Restoration of Independence of Lithuania. What thoughts do you have on the historical parallels between the paths taken by Lithuania and Ukraine?
Probably not all of us remember how we felt on the eve of and immediately after 11 March 1990. There was an immeasurable emotional elation, a sense of courage and unity. But at the same time, we were afraid of being left alone, of being betrayed by the Western democracies, of being disappointed by the world we were rushing into and even perhaps trusted naively. Thank God we had so many of these hopes and beliefs, otherwise we might not have continued.
Ukraine has changed beyond recognition since 2014, with tremendous progress in all spheres of life up until 2022. The country was approaching equality with Lithuania in terms of quality of life, but not yet in terms of economic well-being. Ukrainians’ positive outlook on life was fuelled by the belief that “tomorrow will only be better”, because tomorrow there will be the EU and NATO. Now, on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a large part of society has understandably descended into doubt, a disillusionment that sometimes resembles a collective depression. That is why the struggle today needs to be fought not only on the front line, but also in hospitals, universities, and everywhere. That is why we need to fight for everyone today, and not just at the front line.
Has academic work in Ukraine stopped during the war?
I have visited Ukraine several times during the war, and I can confirm that life there has not stopped. Even in Kharkov, which is bombarded every day, there is a university, students and interns are trained, research work is conducted, and hybrid conferences take place. It is true however, that the hotel where I had been staying on my visits was razed to the ground. In 2022–2023, together with the academic community of Vinnytsia National Pirogov Medical University, we published a 3-volume textbook on paediatric diseases in the Ukrainian language for medical students. Life goes on, we are not giving in, not only in Ukraine, but also here in Lithuania.
How can each of us help Ukraine in this war?
We should make sure that Ukrainians do not have to write a sequel to the book Utterly Alone, which tells about the post-war period in Lithuania. This is a book about the indifference of the Western world, which we are a part of now. We must be honest in answering a simple question – is that all I can do to help Ukraine to win this war, to come out of it with its head held high? Someone might say that “one person cannot make a difference,” even though we in Lithuania overturned this mindset back in 1990.
Each of us can show concern, write or say a word of encouragement, or help one person or a family in Ukraine. Such support emotionally reaches about 70-100 people surrounding the supported family. More than financial aid for the people in Ukraine, it is important to know that each one of them is seen, heard, needed and that their struggle is meaningful.