Mr Yushchenko added: “We enjoyed our tour of John Rylands Library, which is stunningly beautiful and holds so many unique treasures. Oh, and as an avid beekeeper, I was thrilled to see that the symbol of your wonderful and historic city of Manchester is the brilliant and hard-working bee!” 

“It was a great honour for The University of Manchester to host President Yushchenko and the First Lady for the lecture and visit,” said Professor Fiona Devine, Vice-President and Dean of Humanities, who was the senior host for the visit. “The 91ֱ�� region has strong links with Ukraine, and the University is also home to a growing number of Ukrainian students who were delighted to be able to meet President Yushchenko personally. The University looks forward to continuing its support for our students.”

"Our hosting the President and First Lady Yushchenko was an opportunity to not only showcase the University, but also to discuss possible future cooperation between our staff and students and those at leading universities in Ukraine," said The University of Manchester’s Professor of Comparative and Ukrainian Politics Olga Onuch. "The president stressed his thanks for the support people in the UK - and 91ֱ�� specifically - have given to Ukraine and the ordinary Ukrainians who had to temporarily flee their homes.

"Our Politics students reported later in class that they were inspired by the President’s words, and they were hugely thankful to have had the unique opportunity to personally meet a world leader that lead a people’s revolution. This is exactly what we should be doing as a global University - inspiring the leaders of tomorrow by building bridges and partnerships with the leaders of today."

“The appointment of the first Professor of Comparative and Ukrainian Politics is long overdue in the English speaking world and is a major milestone, not only for the Ukrainian community in the UK but also globally,” said Anna Dezyk MBE, Deputy Chair of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (AUGB). “Professor Onuch's enthusiasm and extensive expertise in this area provides a fantastic platform for the study of Ukrainian Politics to finally move out of the shadows and take its rightful place in academia.”

“The University of Manchester’s creation of this post could not have come at a more relevant time, and the appointment of Professor Olga Onuch could not be more appropriate and richly deserved,” said Leigh Gibson OBE, Ukraine Director for the British Council. “We look forward to continuing our collaboration with Olga and her department to understand more about the role young people have played in the development of Ukraine as a democratic nation, and the critical contribution they will make to recovery and rebuilding in the future.”

"It has never been more important for Ukraine to be genuinely understood and appreciated internationally," said Volodymyr Sheiko, Director General of the Ukrainian Institute. "Much of the knowledge about Ukraine, its history, politics, and culture emerges from leading academic institutions to inform public policies, curricula, and public opinion. Academic excellence makes our societies better informed and more resilient. The appointment of Olga Onuch as the first Professor of Ukrainian Politics in the English-speaking world is a crucial milestone to achieve this. I am confident that Olga’s profound experience and expertise will set a high standard for others to follow.”

“The funding for the course will allow students to collect and analyse original survey and textual data, on the basis of which they will write policy briefs on topics of interest to UK and Ukrainian practitioners," added Dr Onuch. "We hope to share this experience with colleagues at the Kyiv School of Economics and Kyiv Mohyla Academy, which will further promote our internationalisation aims.”

“In the spirit of the University’s public engagement and social responsibility priorities, we also look forward to welcoming members of the local Ukrainian community joining us for the annual Key Note Lecture of Contemporary Ukrainian Politics. Greater 91ֱ�� and the wider region has been home to several generations of British Ukrainians, and now refugees - we hope to honour them by placing the study of Ukraine front and centre.” 

“Drawing on years of research on Ukrainian politics and society, this timely study paints a fuller picture of Zelensky and the conditions that made him who he is today, and deserves a wide readership at this critical moment in European history,” said Gwendolyn Sasse, Director of the Centre for East European and International Studies.

For more information about the book, visit . 

The event is generously funded by the University of Manchester's Humanities Strategic Civic Engagement Fund (HSCEF), and is also supported by the MOBILISE project and Ukrainian Embassy in the UK.

This conference brings together dozens of Ukrainian students and UK University alumni from across the whole country for a day of talks, working groups, monitoring, and lectures. Among many special guests will be Ms. Olga Tokariuk, a renowned Ukrainian Journalist and Reuters Institute Fellow at Oxford, and Professor Andrew Wilson of UCL will be joining the students for key note lectures. 

Dr Onuch said “It is our duty as scholars and university leaders to support the next generation - one way we can do this is to  provide a space where they can come together, meet each other, and feel a collective sense of support and meaning," said Dr Onuch. “These students have been through unthinkable trauma and stress in the last year - they have family and friends in harm's way, and yet they still have to write essays, sit exams, and think of finding a job. Thus, we must do all we can to support them and their ambitions.”

These long-term twinning partnerships will provide vital support in the short term, so students can continue their studies, and researchers can carry on with their research. In the longer term, this collaboration will help the Ivan Horbachevsky Ternopil National Medical University to rebuild their campus and play an important role in the rebuilding of Ukraine.

“When the opportunity to support a fellow medical school came along via the UUK twinning scheme, we were keen to help,” said Professor Margaret Kingston, Director of Undergraduate Medical Studies at The University of Manchester. “It has meant an awful lot to colleagues in Ternopil to receive our support, as their main concern was losing their faculty and students.”

“They have lost many students and staff as people have left the country or joined the fighting, funds have been diverted and accommodation is housing displaced persons. Their request to us was to help them to continue delivering medical training so their supply of future doctors is maintained, and they do not suffer an even worse “brain drain” in addition to everything else.”

The university is also supporting Ukraine in other ways. In June, the University and the Ukrainian Student Society worked together to organise participation in a live question and answer session with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in which he thanked universities for their support and spoke of the deep historic links Ukraine has with British academia. There was such high demand for tickets that a second location had to be secured at extremely short notice to broadcast the session to students.

A team of volunteer medics from UK-Med - a charity based at the university which provides healthcare assistance during humanitarian crises around the world – is currently working across Ukraine to provide care for the many people in need. The charity is also providing support and training for local healthcare staff, who are having to respond to situations far beyond anything they’ve ever dealt with before.

Soon after UK-Med launched their , Joe Stafford from the university’s news and media relations team embarked on a marathon cycle ride in The Netherlands, Germany and Belgium to raise funds for the charity. He was able to raise over £3000 by riding 1600km in 14 days, as well as raising the profile of UK-Med by appearing in the media both here in the UK and in The Netherlands. 

An expert from the university is also helping Ukrainians by repurposing her research activities to create a system which provides a running account of atrocities taking place in the country. Working with colleagues in the USA, Dr Olga Onuch established the project which analyses Twitter data using machine-learning algorithms to highlight humanitarian needs, displaced people, civilian resistance and human rights violations. This is helping aid agencies to direct their resources, as well as permanently documenting abuses and atrocities in order for justice to be sought after the war ends.

Vivienne Stern MBE, Chief Executive, Universities UK said: “I’m really proud of the way that the UK university sector has stepped up to play its part in the global response to enabling Ukrainian universities to get through this war and hopefully emerge stronger.

For more information about the campaign, visit . 

 

Irena Karpa, lead singer and songwriter of the band Qarpa recorded a 6 minute audio version of a two-page leaflet highlighting parenting skills resources which have been used by desperate families affected by the  invasion of Ukraine. She is also famed in the country as a writer and blogger. 

A video of her contribution is available

The UN says at least 262 children have been killed and 415 injured in attacks since the Russian invasion on 24 February.

Around 5.2 million Ukrainian children are affected by the conflict: three million inside the country and more than 2.2 million in refugee-hosting countries.

Published in 7 of the languages of countries receiving Ukrainian refugees, the resource was developed from the experience of displaced Syrian parents living through the country’s civil war.

The leaflets - in Ukrainian, Russian, English, Polish, Romanian, Dutch and German are available on the on the University of Manchester website and along with other resources  on a website.

They have now been made available, with support from the United Nations Office n Drugs and Crime Prevention Treatment and Rehabilitation Section (UNODC), in audio in , as well as , , and .

The leaflets have been used across Europe by NGOs, public health systems, charities, UK foster families and displaced families themselves and widely shared online. It is hoped that the audio recordings will help caregivers access the information more easily.

The work is based on the research of Dr Aala El-Khani, a University of Manchester psychologist and family skills programme trainer who developed numerous family skills interventions and parenting resources based on her experiences working with Syrian refugees in Syria, Turkey and the UK.

The academic, who is of Syrian heritage herself, worked with Professor Rachel Calam, Professor of Child and Family Psychology and Dr Kim Cartwright at The University of Manchester, to produce the leaflet.

It explains that anxiety, nightmares, bedwetting, withdrawal and even aggression are common responses to childhood trauma, and offers basic reminders and suggestions to parents for looking after themselves and their children.

Dr Aala El-Khani, who also works as an international consultant for UNODC said: “We know that one of the most important predictors for the mental health of children who experience conflict and displacement is the way that they are cared for by their families.

“Warm, positive parenting can help buffer children from psychological harm and that is the purpose of this initiative which is making a real difference to Ukrainian families affected by the war.

“One Polish group in Poland told us they had even been distributing the leaflets to exhausted parents at a train station, along with a warm drink.

“This provided families an opportunity to be open about the challenges they were facing, and help them to refocus on what they could do to be the best parent possible.

Seeing the leaflet, one relief worker in Romania told the team: "So really helpful, at first hand all the info guidance and advices,  Will make sure to have printed out forms and given to parents in need that cross the border from Ukraine to Romania.”

Another said: “Thank you for this valuable resource. We will use it among our networks and share it with those who are helping to provide pastoral support for traumatised Ukrainian refugees.”

Professor Rachel, Calam said: “We know that good family relationships are an important way to promote children’s mental wellbeing, which can help to counteract their actual experience in wartime - appalling though that may be.

“Our recently published in the journal Child and Adolescent Mental Health highlights this and what researchers have to say on this area.

“But overall, if families can provide warm, positive and secure parenting, that can be powerfully protective, and this information helps them to achieve just that

The videos/audio recordings are available on the website

The support aims to stabilise the pipeline of desperately needed newly qualified doctors in the war-torn country.

While some academics and students from TNMU have joined the Ukrainian defence forces, others are now teaching trauma management to civilians, placing pressure on academic staff numbers.

91ֱ�� will provide academic support and training and will also be sharing teaching and learning materials.

The University is also looking at offering short electives to Ukrainian medics of the future to gain clinical experience in a UK hospital.

The move is one of at least 71 formal partnerships between UK Universities and their Ukrainian counterparts in the war torn country announced by this week.

It follows The University of Manchester’s separate announcement of a £5 million package of funding to support displaced students and academics in Ukraine as well as other countries affected by armed conflict.

The March announcement builds on 91ֱ��’s existing programmes, such as the augmented Living Cost Support Fund or specific schemes to assist asylum seeker students.

Founded in 1957, TNMU is a tertiary state educational institution, and a center of biomedical research and training.

The university provides high quality professional medical training to domestic and international students.

It currently enrols around 7,000 students, including 2,500 of international students from 56 countries, studying medicine, dentistry, pharmacy nursing, paramedic science and public health as well as and postgraduate studies.

Rector of TNMU Professor Mykhaylo Korda said: “This twinning agreement with one of the most progressive universities in the UK  is extremely important for the future development and progress of our school. We hope to gain new methodologies of teaching, the modern approaches to research and new experience in the internationalization of TNMU.”

Vice-Rector for Education at TNMU Professor Arkadiy Shulhai said: "The war has forced us into relying on online classes. Thanks to our twinning with The University of Manchester, we can  enhance the clinical study of our future physicians living under martial law.

“It is a privilege and a pleasure to be twinned with The University of Manchester. We hope for a long-term and fruitful collaboration in the fields of education and research.”

Professor Margaret Kingston, Director of Undergraduate Medical Studies at The University of Manchester said: “We are proud to support our Ukrainian colleagues to maintain the delivery of their medical programme.”