MDU stands with Ukraine

On Friday, 25 August we will welcome our new students from all over the world. This reminds us of the unique role that academia and universities around the world play. We are an international family that will stand up for the right to think freely and the right to scrutinize power - a force that is the cornerstone of democratic societies.

That is why it is now especially important for MDU to stand up for our sister universities in Ukraine.

Last Saturday there was a Russian missile attack on Chernihiv city that killed seven people, including a child, and injured 110 people. A square, a theatre and the Polytechnic University were hit. Attacking squares, theatres and universities means attacking some of the most important civilian cornerstones of democracy, culture and science. In an insane and brutal way, this attack shows how important these institutions of culture are to the Russian aggressor.

Russia´s hideous war is a crime against humanity, against international law and an attack on the European security order. People are being killed, injured and are in dire need. The victims are both civilian and military and it is important to emphasize that the Russian president is lying when he says that no civilian targets have been attacked.

As Vice-Chancellor at Mälardalen University, I once again condemn the Russian war on Ukraine and the attack on Chernihiv. It is important to remind ourselves to support the Ukrainian people, refugees and our sister universities in Ukraine, as we start the new semester this week. I also want to remind us to value and honour our public squares as symbols for meetings in peace, our cultural institutions and our universities where academic freedom is guaranteed.