‘It is important because children who had been affected by military aggression were provided with safe environment and had the opportunity to continue attending school. This initiative is only part of the efforts of Lithuania to help Ukraine: we will continue to provide assistance to Ukrainian people who have suffered as a result of military actions,’ Bekešius said.
All of the 14 children come from the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk: some of them have lost their homes during the war, and some of the children have even lost their parents during the ongoing conflict.
This was already the second group of children from the war-torn Luhansk and Donetsk regions, who attended school in Lithuania during the entire school year. In 2014, Lithuania received a group of 16 children and two teachers from Ukraine who spent the school year 2014-2015 in Lithuania. Their education and accommodation were funded by the Lithuanian Government.
Lithuania has also been financing the short-term visits of children from the eastern Ukraine to Lithuania. As part of the development cooperation project ‘Support for the Education in the Post-Conflict Areas in Eastern Ukraine: In the way of Changes’, which is funded by the Foreign Ministry of Lithuania and the Swedish Institute, Lithuania regularly receives groups of pupils from the Luhansk region who take part in a week-long practical training session; also Lithuania organizes special training for teachers and school psychologists from the eastern Ukraine.
Since the beginning of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, Lithuanian institutions have already provided assistance to Ukraine valued at over EUR 4.5 million.
