In an empathic display of academic solidarity, Lithuania’s Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VILNIUS TECH) has launched a fundraising campaign to support Ukraine’s Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute – a close ATHENA (Advanced Technology Higher Education Network Alliance) partner – whose campus was recently devastated by a brutal missile and drone attack.
The terrorist airstrike — one of the most violent assaults on Ukrainian universities since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion — inflicted extensive damage on the Kyiv Polytechnic’s campus, including academic buildings, four student dormitories, and the sports centre. The scale of destruction is staggering: the losses are estimated at millions, with damaged infrastructure, thousands of square meters of broken glass, disrupted communications, and more structural harm. Miraculously, no students or staff were hurt.
Responding promptly, VILNIUS TECH Rector Romualdas Kliukas has called upon the university community to unite and contribute to the urgent fundraising campaign to restore Kyiv Polytechnic’s campus. The initiative aims not only to help rebuild the infrastructure, but to rekindle hope.
“Let us stand for hope and rebuild what those against the free world have torn down,” Rector Kliukas wrote. “Everything we do today, filled with compassion and determination, is for one goal – victory for Ukraine and all of Europe. A victory we all await.”
The call to action has resonated across the ATHENA European University federation, with Romualdas Kliukas personally reaching out by letter to partner institutions to rally to the collective support of Kyiv Polytechnic.
In response to the initiative, Kyiv Polytechnic Rector Anatolii Melnychenko extended heartfelt thanks to the VILNIUS TECH community and ATHENA: “Partner support provides not only material aid but also emotional strength and a sense of unity that cannot be overstated. It shows that even amid the tensions of war, our shared values – human dignity, mutual assistance, and belief in education as a force for good – remain alive and strong. We are proud to be part of this community and carry your support with us as we rebuild not only our infrastructure but also hope.”
At this challenging time, VILNIUS TECH’s initiative sends a clear message: the light of knowledge, cooperation, and resilience will not be extinguished by drones and missiles.
https://vilniustech.lt/about-university/news/rebuild-the-campus-restore-the-hope/73472?nid=374193