Despite Ukraine’s relatively open system of education for residents in separatist territories, the war and economic crisis in the region create unavoidable problems for those in education. (c) Adam Davy/EMPICS Sport/PA Images. All rights reserved.
The armed conflict broke out in eastern Ukraine at the end of the 2013-2014 academic year — just before students were to take their final exams. Universities, colleges and schools were preparing to hand out diplomas and certificates to successful candidates. But over the summer of 2014, local skirmishes turned into full-scale hostilities. A referendum was held in the areas controlled by separatist forces on independence for the two self-styled republics, the so-called Donbas People’s Republic (DNR) and the Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR). These new political entities mostly copied the existing Ukrainian system of government, and thus Ministries of Education appeared in both republics.
