It is difficult to treat diseases, but it is even more difficult to treat the wounds that have.been inflicted, and are still being inflicted, by the war. Russia’s war against Ukraine, which has been going on for a year, continues to capture the world’s attention, and many are secretly wondering: “What if...?” It is these thoughts that encourage millions of Europeans and others around the world to donate, help, and whole heartedly support the Ukrainian people. According to Professor Arūnas Valiulis, a paediatrician at the Clinic of Children’s Diseases of the Faculty of Medicine of Vilnius University, the key thing at this time is not to give up on humanity and to help. “Each of us must do more than we think we can”, the professor said. Together with fellow doctors, he has initiated a campaign to support the families of Ukrainian soldiers who have perished in the war.
Professor, please tell us how the initiative by Lithuanian paediatricians to support the families of Ukrainian soldiers who are still fighting or have perished in this war came about.
Frankly speaking, the initiative began out of despair, seeing how people much more powerful and richer than us are not paying enough attention or making any effort to stop Russian aggression or save those who are dying every day. Everything started back in March 2022, when we naively believed that global condemnation of the invasion would be enough to stop Russian aggression and awaken the Western world from their siesta that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union. On our own initiative, we prepared the resolution, Children’s Doctors Against the War: A Call for Action Now, in which we appealed to politicians around the world and international organisations, asking them to create a no-fly zone over Ukraine as soon as possible and to protect against more Ukrainian children dying. Within 36 hours of its launch, the resolution, born in Lithuania, was signed by 40 national and international associations of paediatricians from around the world. The text of the resolution was published on the websites of international organisations and in the University journal, ACTA Medica Lituanica.
The resolution became an official document of many international forums, reaching the European Parliament and the US Congress, and the response was widespread. Emanuelis Zingeris, a member of the Lithuanian Parliament, helped us a lot in promoting the resolution. Despite these activities, the rockets and bombs continue to rain down on the heads of Ukrainian children; by the time the resolution was adopted, 79 children had been killed, and currently a total of 461 have lost their lives. The question then arises: Should we therefore fall into despair or should we simply double our efforts to support Ukraine and mobilise our society? Do we have the right to get tired of fighting for the lives of the Ukrainian people and their future?
Why did you choose to support the families of soldiers? What decisions helped this initiative to grow?
Time was passing, the Western democracies painfully generated algorithms of their actions, and there were delays everywhere, but in the meantime, there was massive bloodshed among Ukrainian soldiers and civilians alike. Naturally, our common historical past with Ukraine makes every Lithuanian think: What can I personally do to end the war in Ukraine, to gain the victory of truth and justice? I do know some representatives of our academic community who instead of celebrating their birthdays and anniversaries as before, have donated funds to support Ukraine. In one case, the money from a scientific prize went to support Ukraine. I am pleased that there are many known examples, but even more are unknown, and in this respect I imagine we are not different from others.
Later, Christmas approached in December 2022 and many in Ukraine celebrated it together with the Western world, although there were people who celebrated it together with the Russian Orthodox Church at the beginning of January. We had an idea that in the period between these two Christmas celebrations, we would support the families of Ukrainian soldiers, primarily the mothers of soldiers. They have to bear a double burden: enduring the devastating war day after day, and at the same time, not knowing whether their sons on the front are alive, whether they are hungry, whether they have the necessary military resources, or whether they even have first aid. For reasons of security and to protect the soldiers, they are only permitted to make a limited number of calls home, so mothers have to endure long periods of being in the dark, adding to their despair. We often hear words of gratitude for soldiers, but very rarely do we hear words of gratitude for their families. The main objective of our campaign was therefore to draw the attention of Ukrainian and European politicians to this social group who bear this double burden and to show solidarity. To let Ukrainian military families know that they are visible, that people are proud of them, not only in Ukraine, but also outside Ukraine, and that the sacrifice of these families in sending their sons or husbands to defend their homeland is not meaningless and will not be forgotten.
Since 2014, I have closely cooperated with Ukrainian universities and medical societies to implement EU standards for undergraduate and post-graduate medical training in that country. A working group within the Faculty of Medicine of Vilnius University, which I had the privilege to lead, prepared and successfully implemented a programme for the improvement of qualification training and the competitiveness of higher education lecturers in Ukraine. We have also established a permanent Ukrainian–Lithuanian public council for medical reform.
When we launched the initiative to honour and support the families of Ukrainian soldiers, we used the information network of physicians in Ukraine. We asked our colleagues to suggest 2–3 families of Ukrainian soldiers. We gathered a list of 50 families of combatants or soldiers who have perished across Ukraine. We allocated 300 euros to each mother of a soldier or the soldier’s family, if they had any, and 500 euros to each family of a soldier who had been killed. It should be noted that in 2022, the average monthly salary of a Ukrainian doctor working in the state sector did not exceed 300 euros.
How did this campaign manage to collect nearly 25,000 euros to honour and support the families of Ukrainian soldiers?
Perhaps the goals we set were clearly understood and struck a chord with colleagues, because we collected the funds incredibly quickly. The initiators of the campaign were a group of employees working at the Clinic of Children’s Diseases of the Faculty of Medicine at Vilnius University and also the IPOKRaTES Lietuva Foundation. And so, from the outset, we decided that this will be an exclusive gift from paediatricians to Ukraine. The main sponsors were the Society of Lithuanian Paediatricians, the societies of such subspecialties as pulmonologists, gastroenterologists, and allergologists, and the Vilnius Society of Paediatricians along with the cardiology polyclinic Testas in the city of Klaipėda. I would also like to thank the ambassadors of this campaign from Vilnius University: Professor Vaidotas Urbonas, Associate Professor Algirdas Valiulis, and Doctor Marius Zolubas.
Have you had an opportunity to communicate with the families that received the support, and could you share your impressions? What was most memorable?
Tatyana Golub from Kyiv was the “dove of peace” who was in contact with each family, verified their data, collected support applications, and received support confirmations. We received consent to accept support from the families of soldiers in advance, and some families sent detailed stories about their family history with photos along with permission to publish them. The stories of the soldiers are diverse: some have been defending Ukraine in Donbass since 2014, and others perished on the first day of the war. Among those who perished, there are the Azovstal heroes, who became known for their courage in the evacuation of injured soldiers by helicopter from the factory while it was under siege. The soldiers are from almost all regions of Ukraine, but mainly from the frontline areas of Kharkiv, Kherson, Zaporizhia, Donbass and Luhansk. Some are volunteers, especially from the military units of the organisation Right Sector, and others are conscripts. Some are officers and others are privates. They are all equally important to us and all are heroes. We were particularly moved by the family of a deceased volunteer soldier from Kropyvnytsky (photo), who left five orphaned children. We were moved by how hopeful, even optimistic, the actions and mindset of this family were. We hope to help this family on a permanent basis, because they are so alive, genuine and real: it seems like this family is healing us and not the other way around. If possible, we plan to continue to support them in the future.
We all are fully aware that the war is an absolute horror, and we often feel powerless in the face of it. But perhaps children are the most affected by the war. As a paediatrician, what do you think are the greatest threats to the physical and emotional health of children in Ukraine at this time?
It’s hard to imagine what long lasting damage to children’s health is left by each day of the war. I have read the speech of the Ukrainian Ombudsman for the Rights of the Child. It described how thousands of children were forcibly removed from the occupied territories and taken to Russia. Some of them were adopted there without the knowledge of the relatives who remained in Ukraine. This is one very sinister aspect of the problem. The other is the daily damage caused by the war to all Ukrainian children without exception. Chronic stress causes not only emotional disorders, but also a large range of psychosomatic conditions. This leads to the search for guilt: What did I do wrong for such a disaster to happen to me and my family? Even small children who appear not to understand anything actually have the strongest emotional connection with their parents and intensely experience the tension and anxiety of adults. In the occupied territories of Ukraine, there is a shortage of everything, including medicines for the treatment of chronic diseases like diabetes, asthma, and cystic fibrosis. We buy medicines in Lithuania and together with Ukrainian physicians employed at the Faculty of Medicine, organise the delivery of these medicines to patients. The supply of vaccines has also been disrupted, so previously forgotten infectious childhood diseases such as measles and diphtheria are making a comeback. Of course, there are also children who have been injured or have suffered severe burns because of rocket attacks and bombings.
Do you keep in touch with paediatricians in Ukraine? What challenges are they facing? What would you like to wish them right now?
We maintain regular contact with the Ukrainian academic community. Thanks to the financial assistance of the Research Council of Lithuania and Vilnius University, we temporarily employ several colleagues at our university. We are one of the reference centres of the European Academy of Paediatrics for helping Ukrainian children and therefore help coordinate their treatment in Lithuania and other European countries. My wish would be that my colleagues in Ukraine, and all of us, do not doubt the choice of the Ukrainian nation and do not stop, but work, create and live. That would be the best response to the aggressor. I agree with the opinion that Ukraine has already achieved victory in the war, and what is left is totally losses and casualties. And these would be far fewer if each of us, without looking at others, would every day make a contribution, however small, towards Ukraine’s victory. In my opinion, to remain just a passive observer is a crime, not only against Ukraine, but also against the future of our own children.
The family of a Ukrainian volunteer from Kropyvnytsky, who perished, before leaving for the front (family’s personal photo, published with permission)
We all are fully aware that the war is the worst horror and we often feel powerless in the face of it. But perhaps, children are the most affected by the war. As a paediatrician, what are the greatest threats to children in Ukraine, to their physical and emotional health, at this time?
It’s hard to imagine what long lasting damage to children’s health is left by each day of the war. I have read the speech of the Ukrainian Ombudsman for the Rights of the Child. It described how thousands of children were forcibly removed from the occupied territories and taken to Russia. Some of them were adopted there without the knowledge of the relatives who remained in Ukraine. This is one very sinister aspect of the problem. The other, is the daily damage caused by the war to all Ukrainian children without exception. Chronic stress causes not only emotional disorders, but also a large range of psychosomatic conditions. This leads to the search for guilt: What did I do wrong for such a disaster to happen to me and my family? Even small children who appear not to understand anything, actually have the strongest emotional connection with their parents and intensely experience the tension and anxiety of adults. In the occupied territories of Ukraine, there is a shortage of everything, including medicines for the treatment of chronic diseases like diabetes, asthma or cystic fibrosis. We buy medicines in Lithuania, and together with Ukrainian physicians employed at the Faculty of Medicine, organize the delivery of these medicines to patients. The supply of vaccines has also been disrupted, so previously forgotten childhood infectious diseases such as measles, and diphtheria are making a comeback. Of course there are also children who have been injured or suffered severe burns because of rocket attacks and bombings.
Do you keep in touch with paediatricians in Ukraine? What challenges are they facing? What would you like to wish for them right now?
We maintain regular contact with the Ukrainian academic community. Thanks to the financial assistance of the Research Council of Lithuania and Vilnius University, we temporarily employ several colleagues at our university. We are one of the reference centres of the European Academy of Paediatrics for helping Ukrainian children and therefore help coordinate their treatment in Lithuania and other European countries. I wish my colleagues in Ukraine, and all of us, to not doubt the choice of the Ukrainian nation and to not stop, but to work, create, and live. That would be the best response to the aggressor. I agree with the opinion that Ukraine has already achieved victory in the war, and what is left is to count losses and casualties. And these would be far fewer, if each of us, without looking at others, would every day make our input, however small, towards Ukraine’s victory. In my opinion, to remain just a passive observer, is a crime – not only against Ukraine, but also against the future of our own children.