The global analytical agency in the field of higher education Quacquarelli Symonds, which compiles one of the most popular university rankings in the world QS World University Rankings, has decided to stop cooperation with Russian and Belarusian institutions of higher education in connection with the war unleashed against Ukraine.
“We are outraged by the war that Russia is waging against the Ukrainian people. We believe in the power of international education to promote understanding and cooperation, but now we are seeing how university campuses have experienced destruction, and our partners, colleagues and friends have been displaced and affected by a humanitarian catastrophe,” the founder and CEO of the company said in an official statement.
The report notes that in response to the actions of the Russian Federation, the organization is taking a number of measures.
In particular, it supports, through advisory services and mobility programs, in particular through the QS TopUniversities portal, Ukrainian and foreign students and applicants affected by the war.
Also, through various platforms (during summits, through the website and publications), it organizes discussions among the international educational community about the crisis caused by the war and the search for opportunities to support the affected people, and also ceases to cooperate with new clients in the Russian Federation and suspends active interaction with Russian clients, previously collaborated with.
In addition, a decision was made not to include Russian and Belarusian universities in the new university rankings and to stop advertising Russian universities or the Russian Federation as a place to study.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said that, according to International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) President Peter Maurer, the ICRC will return its representative to Kyiv.
“Had a telephone conversation with the President of the ICRC Peter Maurer. Received positive signal! The Red Cross representatives are returning to Kyiv. Our top priority now is to deliver humanitarian aid to the surrounded cities and evacuate people urgently,” Shmyhal said on Twitter.
Writer J. K. Rowling will donate around GBP 1 million to Lumos, a charity that raises funds to send aid to children in orphanages in Ukraine.
“I will personally match donations to this appeal, up to 1 million. Thank you so, so much to all who’ve already donated, you’re enabling Lumos to do crucial work for some of the most vulnerable children in Ukraine,” Rowling said on Twitter.
English ex-footballer David Beckham and his wife, Victoria, have made a donation to help Ukrainian children, the footballer said.
“Mothers are forced to flee with their children. Families are separating… The war in Ukraine has been going on for the second week, the needs of families are great, and 7.5 million children are now at risk … Victoria and I donated on behalf of our family to the @UNICEF 7 Fund Emergency Appeal,” Beckham said video message on Instagram on Tuesday and called on everyone to provide immediate assistance.
“The situation in Ukraine is truly heartbreaking. Please consider making a donation to the @UNICEF 7 Fund Emergency Appeal, if you have the opportunity, to provide immediate assistance to support the well-being of children, to help with medication and to provide a safe place for families,” Victoria wrote on Instagram.
During the period of Russian military aggression, Ukraine should allow the import and sale of fuel of the Euro-4 ecological standard, director of the A-95 consulting group Serhiy Kuyun said.
“It is necessary to temporarily allow the use of fuel of Euro-4 standards. The equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will not notice this at all. Tanks, ZILs, diesel locomotives and others will go easily – this equipment is not new for the most part,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
“Civilian transport will also survive. Strict European fuel requirements are mainly for environmental purposes. Now there are much more serious threats to our life and health than the exhaust in traffic jams from refugees’ cars,” Kuyun said.
According to him, there are interesting price offers for Euro-4 on the foreign market, which will increase the filling of the Ukrainian market with fuel.
Ukrainian athletes won two more medals at the Beijing 2022 Paralympics.
“The fifth day of the Winter Paralympic Games in Beijing brought Ukraine two medals. They were won in different classes of freestyle sprint skiing,” the National Olympic Committee said in a statement.
Oksana Shyshkova, performing among visually impaired athletes (guide Andriy Marchenko), has already won her second silver and fourth prize at this Paralympics.
Hryhoriy Vovchynsky has already collected a full set of medals in Beijing 2022, and he added bronze in cross-country skiing to gold and silver in biathlon.
In total, Ukraine’s national team has already won 19 medals: six gold, eight silver, five bronze, and ranks third in the medal standings, behind China and Canada.
