Artek General Director Boris Novozhilov said in Kiev on January 16 that the center could cease to exist within a year as the government had not provided any funding for the former Soviet recreation camp for three years.
Ukrainian media later reported Novozhilov had gone on hunger strike on January 19 in protest.
"Novozhilov was hospitalized with an acute coronary syndrome yesterday," Yelena Mekh said. "He is in intensive care now. Doctors describe his condition as fair-to-serious."
Located in the southern Crimea not far from Yalta, Artek is famous as the main pioneer camp and took in children all year round since the 1930s and even carried on working during World War II, when the center was moved to Altai.
It remained a unique international meeting place for children of all ages from all over the former Soviet Union and other countries after the breakup of the U.S.S.R. when already under Ukraine's jurisdiction, but closed in January over a lack of funds.
Artek is subordinate to the Ukrainian president's management committee.
During a video link between Kiev and Moscow on Tuesday dedicated to the problem, Artek's chief doctor blamed interest groups, which plan to seize the center's land that is valued at some $100,000 per 100 sq m, for orchestrating its financial woes.
"Artek's main problem is its valuable land," Mykhailo Bezugliy said. "It is 208 hectares in the Crimea's best location. All the financial difficulties and other problems are artificial ones."
"Artek simply needs to be saved," he said.
The Supreme Rada's budget committee could discuss the redistribution of budget funds in order to resume financing the center shortly, a Ukrainian lawmaker and member of the pro-presidential Our Ukraine faction said during the video link.
Kyryll Kulykov said he would come up with an initiative to make Artek a separate item of spending in the budget at a session next Wednesday.
