Belgium’s Flanders region suspends study grants for Russians: Report

By Agnes Szucs

BRUSSELS (AA) - Belgium’s Flanders region has suspended grants for Russian students, local media reported on Tuesday.

Flemish Education Minister Ben Weyts decided to exclude Russian students from the region’s “Mastermind” scholarship program, according to The Brussels Times magazine.

“We are not doing this because we believe that all Russians are guilty of the war,” Weyts said, and added that the region seeks to “put pressure on those in power in Russia.”

Under the decision, new Russian students will be refused if they apply for a scholarship in Flanders, but the payment will continue for those who previously received the study grant.

In addition to that, Flanders suspended Russia as a scholarship destination for local students.

The announcement came after Ukrainian Education Minister Serhiy Shkarlet called on EU countries to stop cooperation with Russia in the field of research and education.

In its reply to his Ukrainian counterpart, Weyts said that with the suspension of the grants, Flanders wants “to show our disapproval of the blatant attack on the sovereignty of Ukraine.”

Russia's war on Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24, has drawn international condemnation, led to financial sanctions on Moscow, and spurred an exodus of global firms from Russia. The West has also imposed biting export restrictions on key technologies that are now prohibited from being sent to Russia.

At least 474 civilians have been killed and 861 others injured in Ukraine since the beginning of the war, according to the UN, while also cautioning that conditions on the ground make it difficult to verify the true number.

Some 2 million people have also fled to neighboring countries, the UN refugee agency said.