Founder of the Ukraine Reconstruction Fund Pavlo Kostiuk called on Ukraine’s international partners and relevant specialized organizations to pay attention to the problems of Ukrainian scientists and provide them with all possible support.
He drew attention to the figures recently released by UNESCO, the United Nations educational, cultural and scientific organization.
The organization’s report states that Ukraine will need more than a billion dollars to restore the scientific infrastructure that was damaged or destroyed during the two years of war.
It is noted that 1,443 scientific institutions, many of which are affiliated with the country’s universities, have been damaged or destroyed, along with 750 pieces of vital technical equipment, most of which are beyond repair.
The war has also depleted funding for the scientific sector and displaced Ukrainian scientists.
“The extent of Ukraine’s losses in all spheres of life is enormous, unprecedented by any country in the world since World War II. To recover, we need fresh ideas, approaches, and innovative solutions that can be provided by scientific thought. But Ukrainian science itself is going through the worst of times. I don’t know if we will be able to fully restore the scientific potential, but we must keep those who remain and want to continue working for the benefit of the state,” said Pavlo Kostyuk.
He reminded that in october last year, the Ukraine Reconstruction Fund launched a competition of scientific concepts for young ukrainian scientists. He also called on partners around the world to support ukrainian science in a similar or other available way.
