Minister Popovienė attended the meeting of the Lithuanian and Ukrainian Governments
Minister of Education, Science and Sport, Raminta Popovienė, attended the second meeting of the Lithuanian and Ukrainian Governments in Vilnius. The discussions covered the ways of strengthening cooperation between Lithuania and Ukraine in the fields of defence, security, resilience and energy.
The two countries stressed the need to continue, together with their partners, increasing pressure on Russia and its accomplice in aggression, Belarus, by strengthening sanctions, preventing their circumvention, barring representatives of aggressor states from returning to international sporting arenas and concert stages, and pursuing accountability for Russia and its collaborators for crimes committed.
Support for Ukraine in education, science and sport
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Lithuania has consistently provided support to Ukraine in the fields of education, science and sports.
There are almost 12,000 registrations of Ukrainian refugees in Lithuania’s general education schools. There are 8 schools in Lithuania running Ukraine’s education programme. In total, nearly 3,300 pupils are enrolled in that programme in Lithuania, taught in their mother tongue by over 200 Ukrainian teachers. Ukrainians studying in vocational training institutions in Lithuania are funded under the same conditions as other vocational trainees.
In the field of higher education, state support is provided to Ukrainian citizens enrolled in Lithuanian higher education institutions at the beginning of the war, in 2022 and 2023. From the start of their studies, they receive a monthly study grant of €300, and 60% of their tuition fees are reimbursed by the state, with the rest covered by the higher education institution. From 2024, Ukrainians who have completed their secondary education under Lithuania’s general education programmes can apply for state-funded study places together with Lithuanian citizens. There is also a quota of 20 places for Ukrainians to apply for support in Master studies from 2022. This support consists of payment of tuition fees and a grant of €600 as living allowance.
The Research Council of Lithuania implements the Lithuanian-Ukrainian cooperation programme in research. The programme was launched in 2011 on the basis of an agreement of 2003 between the Ministries of Education and Science of Lithuania and Ukraine. Under this programme, each country funds its own researchers who carry out joint research projects. Since the outbreak of the war, the funding has increased significantly, to €1.1-1.5 million for calls for proposals, with the scope of activities expanded and the funds per project increased (up to €100,000), followed by introduction of funding for topics of strategic importance and of common interest to both countries.
Support is also provided for the recruitment of Ukrainian researchers in research and study institutions of Lithuania. From 2022 annually, the Research Council of Lithuania has been providing funding to Lithuanian research and study institutions to compensate the salaries of Ukrainian researchers.
Preventing the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to international sports
To prevent Russian and Belarusian athletes from taking part in international sporting events, and in response to requests from the sporting community, the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport has proposed amendments to the Law on the imposition of restrictive measures in view of military aggression against Ukraine.
The proposed amendments include the suspension of the right of Russian and Belarusian nationals representing their countries to participate in international high-level sport competitions in Lithuania and the restriction of participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes participating as neutrals. It is also proposed that Russian and Belarusian sports organisations and other persons be banned from carrying out activities or
participating in sporting events in Lithuania if they have supported Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, have participated in activities that violated Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, have supported human rights abuses or repressive measures in Russia or Belarus, or have refused to sign a declaration condemning Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and supporting the sovereignty of Ukraine.
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Lithuania has provided annual financial support to Ukrainian high-performance sport. The state budget allocates €100,000 annually to enable Ukrainian national teams from different sports to participate in training camps and competitions in Lithuania.
Photo by Laima Penek