UKRAINE, KHARKIV, Sep. 3 — Valerii Miasoiedov, the head of the Kharkiv National Medical University, said in an interview with Gwara Media that only nine international students applied to the university during admission in 2025.

Miasoiedov said that since 1951, the Kharkiv Medical University has been one of the first to train foreign students in Ukraine and the former Soviet Union.

“Whole families studied there — grandfathers, their children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren. They always tell us they will return as soon as they have the opportunity. We are waiting for it,” said the rector.

He noted that before the start of the Russian full-scale invasion, Kharkiv had the largest number of foreign students, even compared to Kyiv and other regions. 5,000 foreign students studied at the institution in 2021, but now only 120 remain. 

“We are now considering the possibility of creating a campus in other regions and outside Ukraine,” said Miasoiedov.

Miasoiedov said that during the current admission campaign, representatives of Asian countries that also suffer from ongoing armed conflicts entered the university.

“Economic factors also affect where and how they can study, as well as the reputation of the institution’s higher education. Kharkiv National Medical University has a strong reputation, and our foreign graduates not only return to their home countries, but also go to Europe and the United States and work there,” said Miasoiedov.

Miasoiedov also noted that the university has over 45 cooperation agreements with educational institutions from other countries. He noted the cooperation with the University of Cambridge medical school, which opened all its resources for remote learning for students and applicants.

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