Nina Chala , Liudmyla Halahan , Victoriya Konstantinova , Anastasiia Lutsenko
This publication was prepared for the Science at Risk project, which aims to disseminate knowledge about science at risk, including the functioning of Ukrainian science and scientists during Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.
Ukrainian science has been losing human potential for a long period due to the unattractiveness of scientific careers for the youth, leading to an increased median age among scientists. Russia's full-scale invasion has dramatically aggravated this issue.
The principal threats to preserving human resources in science during armed conflicts include emigration, direct casualties and war-related traumas, and professional mobility outside the scientific sector. This White Paper aims to investigate the principal risks and threats of losing scientists due to the war between Russia and Ukraine, examine their experience conducting research during the war, and propose mechanisms for preserving scientists and scientific potential during martial law.
People are the most vulnerable in crises and upheavals, focusing on satisfying basic needs and survival. In every armed conflict, people (scientists) suffer, facing a direct threat to their lives and well-being, restrictions on conducting research, and forced relocation. It leads to migrational flows of refugees, disrupting professional networks and connections and excluding young, promising researchers from science. Scientists face violations of fundamental human rights (right to life, inviolability of the home, etc.) and restrictions on academic freedom, making research impossible.
Ukraine doesn’t have a unified system for tracking losses in scientific human resources. The available data on the detrimental impact of war on Ukrainian scientists is fragmented. As of 07.20/2023, 2,202 scientific officers from NASU institutions (16% of the total) were unable to work at their facilities. Of these, 1,497 (11%) emigrated abroad, while 705 (5%) were internally displaced persons within the country. The total number of scientists who left the country exceeds 6,000.
The National Research Foundation reports that under martial law, only 57 of 169 teams are ready to continue their research and developments that were put on hold, 62 teams may continue work under certain circumstances, and 50 collectives won't be able to continue with their research at all. One of the reasons for putting research projects on hold is funding interruptions.
Among the top 10 countries Ukrainian scientists traditionally collaborated with are Poland, Germany, the USA, Great Britain, China, France, Italy, the Czech Republic, Greece, Slovakia, and Russia. In 2020-2021, Russia held second place on this list. The full-scale invasion rapidly limited the collaboration between scientists from Ukraine and Russia: by 2022, Russia descended to the fourth position in scientific collaboration, and by 2023, it dropped to the eleventh place.
Analysis of publication activity in magazines of the MDPI publisher reveals a decrease in international collaborations involving authors with Ukrainian affiliation during 2019-2022 with all countries except Poland.
International partners have taken various measures to support Ukrainian scientists, including expanded support for Ukrainian projects in Erasmus+ competitions and programs. Invaluable aid was granted to Ukrainians by national research agencies of many countries and international research networks. The powerful international support has allowed the scientists (particularly women) to relocate abroad and continue their research. The scientists who found their temporary refuge abroad and are continuing their research are creating a new generation of Ukrainian diaspora that can conduct efficient scientific diplomacy and contribute to developing international scientific partnerships.
As a result of this research, we propose the following recommendations:
— Establish a centralized system for tracking data on the losses of scientists during the war, using the Ministry of Education and Science (MES) as the foundation, with regular and systematic publication of real-time information. It will give a clear understanding of the overall risks, threats, and destructive consequences of Russia’s full-scale invasion for science in general and scientific human potential in particular.
— Restructure and develop existing programs to support scientists who remain in Ukraine or have returned from abroad (remote vacancies in foreign institutions, virtual mobility and remote grants, enlisting researchers and research groups through outsourcing, creating new collaborative networks, etc.).
— Regulate the issues of remote work for scientists during the war. Despite there being no legal prohibitions for remote work, there is a gap in regulations that would protect scientists who found a temporary refuge abroad and can potentially lose connections with their institutions or cease conducting research on their topics due to the pressure from the management or forced quitting.
— Create and develop support programs for scientists actively serving on the frontlines and those returning to work after serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU): adaptation within scientific collectives, integration support for returning to research topics, development of policies for barrier-free access to the creation of scientific outputs, psychological support and mental well-being programs, inclusivity.