What action happened in the university today: explanation

Photo: Vladyslav Maliarchuk

Today students could find some flyers all around the university. These flyers contained information about the war in Ukraine, which began a year ago, on February 24, 2022. The action was not agreed with the university’s administration and probably triggered many questions.

Photo: Vladyslav Maliarchuk

To understand the reasons for this, we took a comment from an organizer about this action. His name is Vladyslav Maliarchuk, and he is a third-year computer science student. Vladyslav grew up in Ukraine and moved to Norway when he was 15.  

«Today, February 24th is exactly one year since Russia invaded Ukraine. I remember in detail when I opened my phone and got the first news. The next few weeks were blurry. Endless news scrolling, texting, and phone calls. It hits you on a different level when you see places of your childhood that suddenly became battlefields.

I want to remind people about it. I do not want to beg anyone for donations or other financial support for Ukraine. Do not get me wrong; I would not be able to thank you enough if you want to or have already donated. However, I want to show that Ukraine is much more than the war headlines. This country has much more to offer to the world. We made products you may use daily, such as Grammarly, GitLab, or Ajax security systems. We made video games you may play – Metro franchise. I’ll appreciate it if you dedicate a bit of your time to exploring Ukraine by reading articles and watching videos about topics you may find interesting.

In this country, those people fight for their future, values, and identity, and I want you to know about it».

Vladyslav Maliarchuk