Hello,
My name is Tatyana Deryugina, I’m an Associate Professor at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. I’m originally from Ukraine and still have family there. My heart breaks for what Russia is doing to Ukraine and its people.
I hope you are somewhere safe, but I know that most Ukrainian academics and people are not. The goal of my letter today is to offer my solidarity with Ukraine and to try to help you personally. I have already made many donations, reached out to my representatives in the US, and am speaking out against this war in whatever way I can, but I would like to do even more. If you would like any assistance, please let me know your circumstances and I will do my best to find resources and opportunities that could be helpful to you. Many opportunities are also listed here. Science for Ukraine is adding even more daily.
Additionally, if there is anything you would like to say to the international research community that you think could help bring an end to the war that Russia is waging on Ukraine, I would like to help publicize it however I can (and translate from Russian/Ukrainian if necessary). I am with you.
I wrote to you in English because I’m not sure what language you prefer or where you are currently located, but please feel free to respond in either Ukrainian or Russian if that is more convenient.
Sincerely,
Tatyana Deryugina
PS Because this is a personal letter, I’m writing from a personal email address. But if you want to verify my identity for any reason, please email [email protected] (which can also be found on my official website).