Implications of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine for the international mobility of Ukrainian scholars

Myroslava Hladchenko ()
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Myroslava Hladchenko: University of Antwerp, Centre for R&D Monitoring

Scientometrics, 2025, vol. 130, issue 11, No 9, 6109-6133

Abstract: Abstract This study explores the implications of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine for the international mobility of Ukrainian scholars. The dataset, drawn from the CWTS in-house Scopus database, comprises Ukrainian scholars who were internationally mobile between 2020 and 2023. The analysis focuses on scholars affiliated with universities and the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU) before moving abroad. The findings revealed a rise in the number of internationally mobile scholars in 2022–2023, driven primarily by increased mobility from universities. For NASU, Russia was the top destination country in 2020–2021, but it dropped to the fourth place in 2022–2023, overtaken by Germany, China, and Poland. For universities, Poland, Germany, and Russia consistently ranked as the top three destination countries across both periods. A statistical test indicated no significant difference in mean FNCI between scholars who were internationally mobile in 2020–2021 and 2022–2023. However, the share of internationally mobile scholars with articles among the top 10% most cited globally increased among those previously affiliated with universities but declined among those affiliated with NASU. In both periods, the share of scholars with articles in the top 10% most cited globally, published during the five years before changing the country of affiliation, was higher among internationally mobile scholars than among those with Ukrainian affiliations. Whether this mobility implies a brain drain requires further research. If effectively leveraged, it may strengthen Ukraine’s integration into global scientific networks, support post-war recovery, and foster a more resilient, internationally connected, and competitive academic system.

Keywords: Russian invasion of Ukraine; International mobility; Destination countries for mobile scholars; Citation impact (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s11192-025-05450-8

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