Britain has announced a scheme to protect Ukrainian science and research from the war with Russia created to offer residence in the UK to 130 academics.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the project would safeguard Ukrainian know-how needed to rebuild the country, and help the British economy by forging more links in science and tech.
It is one of a series of announcements made by western powers during the three-day G7 summit finishing on Tuesday in Germany, where leaders said they would support Ukraine for “as long as it takes”.
The British government said it would put £9.8 million ($12m) towards fellowships for Ukrainian “researchers at risk”, covering their salaries and contributing to their living costs for up to two years.
There are also plans for more than 100 partnerships between universities in the two countries, with British institutions helping those in Ukraine to teach remotely and hosting staff and students on their campuses.
Dozens of UK universities have signed up. The University of Edinburgh has joined with Kyiv’s Taras Shevchenko National University, the prime minister’s office said.
In addition, the Department for International Trade said it would offer mentoring and connections with British industry to Ukrainian technology entrepreneurs who were forced to leave their country during the war.
Millions have fled Ukraine since the war began in February, with border guards counting more than eight million crossings, including those who have gone back and forth.
The British government has set up two parallel schemes for Ukrainian refugees but has been criticised for making a less generous offer than some of its European neighbours.
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Ukrainian servicemen in a shelter at the frontline near Kharkiv. AP -
A Ukrainian and his puppy in the Donetsk region. AP -
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, third left, is shown apartment buildings damaged by Russian shelling during his visit to Irpin on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP -
Rescue specialists work at the site of a destroyed residential building after blasts in Belgorod, Russia. Reuters -
A woman lays flowers during a demonstration against the invasion of Ukraine in front of the Palais des Nations, in Geneva, Switzerland. EPA -
A woman injured when her house was damaged by the Russian shelling sits in the yard of her house, in Bakhmut, Ukraine. AP -
Local residents stand next to a damaged residential building in the town of Serhiivka, about 50 kilometres south-west of Odesa, Ukraine. AP -
Viktor Shevchenko stands in a crater to show its depth after a Russian shelling in the Saltivka district in Kharkiv. AP -
An image taken from a video provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office purports to show the moment a missile struck the shopping mall in Kremenchuk. AP -
People watch as smoke rises after a Russian missile strike hit a crowded shopping mall, in Kremenchuk. AP -
Firefighters clean the rubble of the destroyed Amstor shopping mall in Kremenchuk. EPA -
A woman cries after the body of her husband, who was killed in the yard of an apartment building during shelling, was loaded into an ambulance in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AP -
Firefighters and rescue workers at the destroyed Amstor shopping mall. EPA -
Rescuers work at the site of a shopping mall hit by a Russian missile strike, in Kremenchuk. Reuters -
A couple wounded by a Russian missile strike hold hands in a hospital, in Kremenchuk. Reuters -
People wait to receive humanitarian aid in front of a residential building damaged during a Russian attack in Borodyanka, Ukraine. EPA -
Ukrainian servicemen take a bus to their positions near Severodonetsk, in Luhansk area. EPA -
A Ukrainian service member and a dog in the industrial area of the city of Severodonetsk. Reuters -
A couple sits in front of a residential building that was damaged during a Russian attack, in Borodyanka. EPA -
Local residents receive humanitarian aid in Borodyanka. EPA -
A Ukrainian armed forces tank in Severodonetsk. Reuters -
Ukrainian service members walk past a damaged car in Severodonetsk. Reuters -
A giant Ukrainian flag is held up during the benefit concert 'Embrace Ukraine' on the Museumplein in Amsterdam. The free event will raise money for victims of the war in Ukraine and the purchase of mobile X-ray equipment that the country needs. EPA -
A fire from a gas processing plant continues to burn behind a field of wheat after it was hit by shelling a few days earlier in Andriivka, in the Kharkiv region. Reuters -
An onlooker takes in the damage from overnight shelling on Kharkiv's Housing and Communal College. Reuters -
A destroyed tank in the village of Novoselivka, outside Chernigiv. AFP -
A man decorates a toy cabin for children made from used ammunition crates in the village of Novoselivka, outside Chernigiv. AFP -
An internal view of the Housing and Communal College building damaged by recent shelling in Kharkiv. EPA
Mr Johnson said that “people across the UK have opened their hearts and their homes to support those fleeing violence in Ukraine, and our world-leading universities, research institutions and tech businesses are no different”.
“Science and technology will be decisive in ensuring [Russian President Vladimir] Putin fails in Ukraine, and it will be crucial as we rebuild the Ukrainian economy,” he said.
Ukraine has said that the costs of rebuilding will run into hundreds of billions of dollars and that total war losses could amount to more than $1 trillion.
Mr Johnson also appealed for Russian scientists disillusioned with the Kremlin to consider applying for a British visa, to “work in a country that values openness, freedom and the pursuit of knowledge”.
His office quoted Ukraine’s Education Minister Serhii Skharlet as saying Kyiv “appreciates greatly” the offer to Ukrainian researchers.
“Thanks to the support of the United Kingdom, Ukrainian scientists who were forced to flee abroad due to Russian aggression will be able to continue their research,” Mr Skharlet said.
“I believe that such collaboration will strengthen significantly the co-operation between our countries.”
