As of August 2024, the Russian Federation has conducted over 1,000 air attacks on Ukraine, including massive strikes with missiles and drones. In August 2024 alone, there were reports of 236 missiles and drones launched in a single day at peaceful Ukrainian cities.
According to official data from the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, as of mid-2024, Russian forces have occupied or repurposed around 3,790 educational institutions for military purposes, including as weapon depots and temporary bases for Russian occupiers.
As of October 2024, approximately 180 schools have been destroyed due to Russian shelling. In total, over 1,700 schools have been damaged, most of which are located in eastern regions of Ukraine.
UNICEF, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Ukrainska Pravda, UKRINFORM, and other official sources present alarming facts about the destruction of educational institutions in Ukraine as a result of missile strikes from the Russian Federation.
For example, in March 2024, a Russian missile caused significant damage to the sports and conference halls of the Kyiv State Academy of Decorative and Applied Arts and Design named after Mykhailo Boychuk, damaging windows, walls, and equipment in neighboring classrooms.
In March 2022, due to bombardment, Irpin Lyceum No. 3 was seriously damaged, leading to the destruction of the facade and broken windows, rendering the institution unfit for learning.
In April 2022, the Borodianka Lyceum in the Kyiv region was affected by shelling, resulting in the destruction of walls and the roof, making the school unsuitable for the educational process.
Similarly, in May 2022, shelling damaged Gymnasium No. 33 in Kharkiv, in July, Zelena Dolyna School No. 1 in Dnipropetrovsk region was affected, and in October, Mykolaiv Lyceum No. 2 was partially destroyed, which temporarily rendered these schools out of operation.
These are just a few examples of damage to over 1,700 schools in unoccupied territories and more than 3,000 schools that remain in occupied areas of Ukraine.
Restoring infrastructure is a decades-long issue. Unfortunately, this damage goes beyond just “concrete walls” to include the mental and emotional well-being of students and teachers, as well as a decline in the quality of education.
According to the Ukrainian School of Elites, there is no need to wait for infrastructure restoration to assist educators. Instead, targeted projects should be created to address specific needs in this context, and the challenges should be tackled collectively by charitable and community organizations, the expert community, partners, and donors.
The Ukrainian School of Elites has noted the lack or deficiency of methodological online resources for teachers of the Ukrainian language—both as the state language and the language of official communication, as well as a mandatory subject for admission to any higher education institution in Ukraine.
While there has been significant attention given to the mathematical field in Ukraine, due to the rapid development of the information technology (IT) sector (with the EdTech Association of Ukraine, various online courses, and online schools typically focused on IT), the Ukrainian language has been overlooked.
Understanding that we cannot solve all problems or tackle everything (from physics to natural sciences), the Ukrainian School of Elites initiated a project to develop methodological online resources specifically for the Ukrainian language. For this purpose, we have engaged top specialists from the first online Ukrainian language training center, uMOVA, led by Halyna Kononivna Dmytrenko, a highly qualified teacher-methodologist and author of Ukrainian language textbooks and programs for the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.
The project is supported by international donors from the Business Coalition of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) and is planned for development over 12 months. For more details, see the “Project for the Development of Methodological Online Resources for Teachers of the Ukrainian Language” page.
Undoubtedly, the issue of overcoming war-related psychological trauma will remain relevant for generations to come. Therefore, the Ukrainian School of Elites is also focusing on mental health projects and the development of psychological competencies among professionals in Ukraine.
On August 15, 2024, the Ukrainian School of Elites had the honor to sign a Memorandum of Partnership with the Business Coalition of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA BC).
Here are some interesting facts about this organization that you may not know.
Catholics have their center — the Vatican. The East Orthodox Christians look to Constantinople (now Istanbul), home to the Ecumenical Patriarchate. But where is the center for Evangelical Christians (or generally “Protestants”, as seen in Ukraine)?
There are nearly 900 million people worldwide who identify as Protestant (Baptists, Pentecostals, Evangelical communities, etc.). WEA BC facilitates global cooperation among them.
So where is the “center” for Protestants? There are several such organizations worldwide: the Anglican Communion, the World Evangelical Alliance, the Baptist World Alliance, the World Methodist Council, the Lutheran World Federation, the International Pentecostal Community, and the Lausanne Movement, among others.
The largest of these organizations is the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), founded in 1846 in London, England.
The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) is an interdenominational organization of Protestant (Evangelical) churches that unites about 600 million believers, including 9 regional and 143 national evangelical alliances, as well as over 100 member organizations and several international Evangelical denominations.
The roots of WEA trace back to the first Evangelical Alliance, founded in the late 19th century by representatives of 52 denominations, in London.
The Business Coalition of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA BC) unites Christian leaders and organizations worldwide for strategic partnerships and collaboration. Timo Plutschinski has led the coalition as Director since 2014.
Timo Plutschinski, an Evangelical Theologian, Director of the Business Coalition of the World Evangelical Alliance and member of the Wider WEA Leadership, a Fellow at the Olivet Institute for Global Strategic Studies and Partner of MIC Corporate Finances, author of the books “Office with a Purpose – Faith in Daily Business Life” (2012) and “The Call – When Christians change politics and society” (2017).
The representative of the WEA BC in Ukraine is Oles Dmytrenko, who has served in this volunteer role since 2018. In 2012-2018 Oles served as a Vice President for Development and Communications at the leading interdenomintational seminary in the country, the Ukrainian Evangelical Theological Seminary (UETS) founded by Rev. Anatoliy Glukhovskiy and led by Rev. Ivan Rusin. UETS was the official representative of the Lausanne Movement in Ukraine. Since 2018, Oles is a member of one of the largest protestant movements in Ukraine, the Sobor of Independent Evangelical Churches of Ukraine, and the leadership team of the New Life Evangelical Church with 1,000 members in Kyiv. With 20 years of managerial experience in business and leadership in Christian ministry, Oles has bridged strategic people in Ukraine sharing God’s Kingdom values.
On August 15, 2024, the Ukrainian School of Elites NGO had the privilege of signing a Memorandum of Partnership with WEA BC. It supported the School’s initiatives, including a strategic EdTech project equipping Ukrainian teachers with quality online resources for remote learning during wartime. Additionally, WEA BC supported charitable projects providing psychological and physical rehabilitation of the war-affected people to include veterans and their families, IDPs, and socially vulnerable people. The work of GoFriends NGO and the New Life Evangelical Church was notably supported to address these critical needs.
The Ukrainian School of Elites (UASE) focuses on values-based integral leadership formation, psychological training, and innovations such as EdTech and new approaches to management (Agile, Management 3.0, Scrum, etc.) We address ethical standards, poverty reduction, carrer growth opportunities for youth, quality education, society formation, and public dialogue between businesses, the church, government, and professional community.
The most immediate challenge is Russia’s ongoing aggression, starting with the 2014 invasion and full-scale war in 2022. The conflict has displaced millions, created orphans, and left countless families and communities in need of psychological support. UASE focuses on helping veterans, their families, volunteers, and internally displaced people by providing mental, social, and similar support.
A second significant issue is redefining the idea of leadership in Ukraine. Historically, Soviet influence suppressed independent thought and private enterprise. Leaders were not seen as morally driven but as corrupt. Today, UASE aims to cultivate leaders with integrity, reliability, and a commitment to ethical standards. This new definition of “elite” places emphasis on moral character and competence rather than wealth or possessions.
Continuing to transform our socity is crucial because Soviet ideology left a legacy of corruption that has slowed Ukraine’s progress. After the USSR collapsed, the country saw a rise in organized crime that seeped into the government. By promoting a model of ethical, values-based leadership, Ukrainian School of Elites seeks to steer Ukraine away from these negative influences.
UASE recognizes that civil society in Ukraine has deep roots, despite decades of repression. From the spiritual revival in the 1990s (Christianity was officially accepted as a state religion in 988 A.C. in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, but in the XX century it was persecuted by the Soviet regime) to mass movements like the Orange Revolution and Euromaidan, Ukrainians have consistently pushed for freedom and justice. Thus, we believe in the need to foster our spiritual heritage as a foundation for healthy society, and support positive societal transformations.
Ukraine’s education system faces unprecedented challenges. The Soviet-era structure, compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic and now the war, has led to a drop in quality. Many teachers lack the tools and training for effective online and remote learning, especially for teaching Ukrainian as a official state language. We address this issue by developing accessible educational resources and training programs to support teachers and students nationwide. Additionally, we emphasizes the importance of digital literacy and modern approaches (Agile, Management 3.0, Scrum) to doing business.
The Ukrainian School of Elites is dedicated to tackle some of Ukraine’s most pressing issues:
Through such initiatives, the Ukrainian School of Elites seeks to help Ukraine rebuild and thrive with a foundation of integrity, resilience, and community-driven growth.