OPINION: Supporting and Building Ukrainian Science

In a time of war, expenditure on science can seem frivolous unless directed to defense requirements. Outside Ukraine, nations focused on helping Ukraine to defend herself similarly tend to forget the need to apply concerted efforts to maintain, and continue to build, Ukraine’s scientific infrastructure. A nation’s scientific capacity is not only essential for its long-term economy, but also for the vibrancy and success of civil society.

Scientific research performs many functions in society. Most of us are familiar with the obvious ones, such as producing new ideas and practical innovations, some of which will power new industries, stimulate breakthroughmedicines or take us into space. Ukrainian scientists have worked in all of these areas. Behind these more well-known benefits of research, there is the effect that scientific work has on the conditions for an open society. 

As scientific research encourages us to consider new ways of doing things, by fostering independence of mind and an enquiring mentality, it contributes to the conditions for healthy democratic deliberation. Good science does not guarantee a free and open society, but a free society is much impoverished without a vibrant scientific community.

The last two years of war have taken an enormous toll on Ukraine’s scientific community and infrastructure. Of course, the worst outcome has been the loss of scientific lives on the front lines, a loss that cannot be replaced. But that human cost is also felt among those striving to continue their efforts. 

The Science at Risk initiative surveyed over 3,000 Ukrainian scientists, with a recent report pointing to just over 21 percent being separated from their families. Asimilar proportion have been grappling with the loss of loved ones, confounding their ability to continue normal research. Remarkably, and a testament to Ukraine’s resilience, over 88 percent of respondents said that they continued to press on with their research.

By early 2024, just over a tenth of Ukraine’s entire scientific community had emigrated. In a recent article published by the journal ‘Cell Systems,’ in which Ukrainian scientists gave their perspectives on war, oneUkrainian researcher who studies the tardigrades – extraordinary animals smaller than a flea which can tolerate extremes from high pressure to intense radiation – poetically observed how the animals’ “resilience and toughness inspire me to keep going no matter what, especially during these difficult times.” She has modified her studies to focus on the lives of these creatures near Vernadsky Research Base, Ukraine’s Antarctic station.

While it’s good to applaud this tenacity, it is clear there is much the international community can do. Over 40percent of respondents in the Science at Risk report said that financial support was essential for Ukrainian science to survive.

Safeguarding the future of Ukrainian science

Many organizations and initiatives have sprung up to aid Ukrainian scientists and their work. Institutions around the world have provided visiting scholarships and grants to Ukrainian scientists. New networks such as Bioinformatics for Ukraine, have sought to keep the community cohesive. The non-profit organization ScienceForUkraine has done much to keep Ukraine’s scientific situation in the public eye and provide on-going information about initiatives and opportunities. EU-funded fellowships, for instance, have helped Ukrainian scientists to keep work going, or temporarily relocate. Key to all these efforts has been flexibility. 

It seems crucial that all these endeavors do not lose site of the real goal – to help Ukrainian scientists return home and realize their aspirations in Ukraine itself. If the war results in the permanent dislocation of Ukrainian scientists abroad, that will be a disaster for Ukrainian science and a lost opportunity for those offering supportoutside Ukraine to foster a larger international community.

Although the current efforts on helping those facing the rupture and inconvenience of displacement is justifiably a priority, surely the objective should be to ensure that Ukrainian scientists who have left home can return tohelp rebuild a strong scientific community, and to assist those who have stayed in Ukraine to blossom again as quickly as possible. 

International funding institutions should consider how they can create opportunities to make this happen. Scientific reconstruction funding might be directed at the highest levels of institutions, but often the most effective accelerant is to offer support to bright and ambitious young scientists to build laboratories and start research groups. It is individual energy that powers much of science, not necessarily dictates from organizations. That is where the effort should be directed. 

Equipment grants and individual funding to bring international collaborators to Ukraine would be helpful. Grants that last for a healthy length of time, for example five years or more, will help early career Ukrainians get up and running with successful research groups. This funding could be administered by organizations such as the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU),the Shevchenko Scientific Society, and other institutions. An international pot of funding into which national governments and scientific organizations would contribute would enable this support, funding which would then be made available to Ukraine to dispense to scientists.

These mechanisms could be built into existing overseas support. Visiting grants for Ukrainian scientists, for example, might come with special funding that will be made available when they can eventually return home, to help them build energetic new groups in their chosen Ukrainian institutions. That way, support can be linked to individuals with the explicit understanding that this backing will be used to benefit Ukraine.

Recovering damaged scientific infrastructure

Much Ukrainian scientific infrastructure has been physically destroyed. During our astrobiology conference in Kyiv in October last year, we heard first-hand about the damage done to the country’s astronomical observatories in the east. It is estimated that more than one third of Ukraine’s scientific institutions have been damaged since the start of the invasion. 

A recent UNESCO report examining the effects of war on Ukrainian science estimates that at least 177 scientific institutions have been damaged or destroyed. The report, ‘Analysis of war damage to the Ukrainian science sector and its consequences,’ is a catalogue of the horrendous destruction to Ukrainian science wrought by the war.

UNESCO suggests that well over $1 billion will be required to restore Ukraine’s scientific infrastructure. This is a substantial sum, but the task of reconstruction on this scale is well within the capabilities of global coordinated action. As nations consider how to help Ukraine with economic construction, they should coordinate a large-scale effort to plan how to provide the financial means to meet these scientific costs and accelerate Ukraine’s integration into the wider international scientific community comprehensively when peace is won.

One piece of good news is that Ukrainian science isvibrant and strong. From computer science to space exploration, biomedicine and aviation, Ukraine has a strong heritage of scientific excellence which provides a robust foundation for recovery. A younger generation of Ukrainian scientists, long before the war, was alreadyversed in the realities of modern electronic communications as a means of collaboration with fellow scientists. They already have much experience of being immersed in large scale international science projects. They will be capable of achieving these capacities once again in short order.

It benefits all of us to help Ukrainian science. Not only does it strengthen the international scientific community by ensuring that Ukrainian scientists continue to play a role in many important and exciting projects around the world, but a healthy scientific community in Ukraine will also increase the resilience, and eventual recovery, of its civil society. 

Charles Cockell is Professor of Astrobiology at the University of Edinburgh. 

The views expressed are the author’s and not necessarily of Kyiv Post.