Paediatrician-neonatologist Associate Professor Olena Kostiuk. Photo: VU MF
When Russian forces entered Ukraine at the beginning of this year, millions of people fled the war and sought refuge in the countries of the European Union. Vilnius University, in solidarity with Ukraine and its academic world, called for European and world leaders to end their cooperation with Russia and to offer all possible support to Ukraine, including hosting and accommodating Ukrainian academics fleeing the war and offering other kinds of assistance.
One of the scientists who accepted the invitation and came to Lithuania is paediatrician-neonatologist Associate Professor Olena Kostiuk. She is currently working at the Vilnius University Children’s Diseases Clinic, and also visits Antakalnis Hospital and Santaros Clinics Children’s Hospital every week to observe the daily work of these institutions, and to participate in the morning briefings.
“It was love at first sight!”
Assoc. Prof. Olena Kostiuk came from Kyiv, where she worked at the Shupyk National Healthcare University of Ukraine at the National Children’s Hospital “Ohmatdyt”. “My work consisted of research, clinical work and teaching. I also had patients in private clinics. When the war broke out, it was too dangerous to stay in Kyiv, so my family and I moved to Western Ukraine. There, I worked in the neonatal unit of a maternity home. I hoped that everything would be sorted out and that I would be able return to normal life, but the situation did not improve. In April, I received an invitation from Prof. Arūnas Valiulis, who invited me to come to Lithuania,” she said.
Initially, Kostiuk was skeptical about the invitation, as it would have meant changing her plans. This was not easy, given that she had previously spent six months in the United States, where the restrictions of COVID-19 had prevented her from implementing all her ideas. “I was disappointed and promised myself that there would be no more long-term work abroad, only short trips. However, Prof. Valiulis urged me to reconsider the offer, given that the situation in Ukraine might not change for the better any time soon. I believed he was right and after a few days I decided to come to Vilnius.”
According to the associate professor, the fact that she had already visited Vilnius helped her decide. Three years ago, she attended the Baltic Pediatric Congress and fell in love with the Lithuanian capital. “It was love at first sight! Of course, neither the country nor the city were the main reason to come. There were many things that persuaded me to come to Lithuania, and like pieces of a puzzle, they came together to form a picture,” she said.
Paediatrician-neonatologist Associate Professor Olena Kostiuk. Photo: VU MF
Associate Professor from Ukraine Contributes to Research Projects
Within two weeks of her arrival in Lithuania on 10 May this year, Kostiuk officially started work. She plans to stay here until the end of December. “I am so busy! I combine my direct work with my scientific activities, and I try to use my free time to meet new people and try new things. I am delighted that Prof. Valiulis has given me the opportunity to work on scientific topics that interest me. I am also grateful to Prof. Lesinskienė, who invited me to join her team’s project”, she explained.
On the surface, the field of psychiatry, in which Prof. Lesinskienė works, and neonatology, in which Kostiuk specializes, seem to have nothing in common. However, the project, aimed at finding out how parents living in Lithuania and Ukraine and their children aged 3-6 are reacting to the war in Ukraine, benefitted greatly from Assoc. Prof. Kostiuk’s input: “I was asked to help in this research by interviewing parents and their children living in Ukraine. I am a pediatrician, so the parents in the study were happy to talk not only about the psychological situation, but also about the health of their children. I am very happy to have had the opportunity to collaborate with the project team, it has been a really great experience and has allowed me to meet a lot of interesting people.”
Another project, implemented at the invitation of Prof. A. Valiulis by Assoc. Prof. Kostiuk was aimed at assessing the psychological condition of pregnant Ukrainian women who travelled from Ukraine to Lithuania to give birth, the reasons for this, and other aspects. During her stay in Lithuania she has also given lectures at various international conferences on the situation in Ukraine regarding the reception of newborns in the changed environment. She also cooperates with the organization Save the Children by giving lectures on various topics to pregnant Ukrainian women and those who have recently given birth.
Longing for Family and Home Calls for a Return to Ukraine
The associate professor said that although she did not face a language barrier in Lithuania, she has made every effort to learn it and stressed that although it is quite difficult to speak Lithuanian, she can read and understand a lot. She explained that she tries to use at least a few words in Lithuanian when speaking to colleagues in hospitals.
“People in Ukraine and Lithuania are not as different as I had imagined. We have many similarities. Lithuania has been part of the European Union for many years, and this is evidenced in the health care system. I understand that in every country there are medics who do not like the system in which they work. However, the model of healthcare that you are working with seems to me to be the best that I have come across. Meanwhile, we in Ukraine are taking the first steps towards a similar model. However, not everyone likes change, and not everyone accepts it”, she observed.
Kostiuk noted that she had previously been of the opinion that Lithuanians are a very strong and at the same time closed people. However, her stay in Lithuania has made her realize that she had the wrong impression. She has been surprised how open, warm, emotional and willing to help, Lithuanians are. “Yours is a small country, with a population the size of a Ukrainian city, but you are incredibly supportive,” she enthused.
However, at the end of December, when the contract with Vilnius University expires, the associate professor plans to return to Ukraine. “I have the opportunity to continue my research not only in Lithuania, but also in other countries – Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, and the UK – but I want to go home, where my family are. I know that in Ukraine, the prices are very high, we have problems with electricity and heating, but I want to go back. Especially since I receive news from Ukraine every day, some of it bad. To not be able to be with my friends when they lose their sons, and other relatives, is heart-breaking.
Nevertheless, I am confident that it will be possible to continue the work we have started remotely from within Ukraine. I would like the war in Ukraine to end as soon as possible, but it seems to me that we have to be realistic, it will take time.” At the end of the interview, she expressed her gratitude to Vilnius University for its support and this opportunity for cooperation.