Scientific publishing sanctions in response to the <scp>Russo‐Ukrainian</scp> war

Анотація

On 24 February 2022, the Russian Federation launched an open-ended military invasion of Ukraine. As the invasion is still ongoing, and since heavy fighting is still predicted to occur, it is currently impossible to assess all of the consequences, both for Ukraine and for the world. However, it is already abundantly clear that these actions are deeply destructive for many spheres of life, in Ukraine, and beyond. Given that the focus of this paper is on education, science and academia, we outline some of the most obvious consequences of this invasion on the conditions in which Ukrainian researchers and educators have found themselves, along with millions of their fellow citizens. The number of victims (injuries and deaths) among the Ukrainian civilian population continues to grow. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights recorded 10,506 known civilian casualties, including 4,677 killed and 5,829 wounded, on 24 June 2022 (UNHR, 2022a). The number of deaths of Ukrainian researchers, both those who were involved in hostilities and among civilians, is also growing (Stone, 2022a). However, actual figures are likely to be much higher, given that several areas of Ukraine are in an active phase of the war, making it impossible to accurately assess such numbers. An untold number of Ukrainian citizens are losing their homes and workplaces, including infrastructure, residential buildings, hospitals, educational and scientific institutions, and are thus deprived of opportunities to preserve a functional society and family, and consequently to earn a living and sustain a balanced lifestyle (CEDOS, 2022). As of 16–17 April, the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, Serhii Shkarlet (Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine [MESU], 2022a), as well as the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Education, Science, and Innovation, Serhii Babak (Babak, 2022), announced that 923 (1,071) educational institutions have been damaged while 91 (95) have been destroyed. The preliminary amount of damage caused to Ukrainian educational institutions due to hostilities is $US 5 billion (MESU, 2022a). As of 24 June 2022, 1,849 educational facilities were damaged while 212 were destroyed (Education in Emergency, 2022) although, as for injuries and deaths, more concrete numbers and accurate lists will only be known when the war subsides. Speaking of the losses borne by Ukrainian sciences, it is imperative to also mention the destruction of Ukraine's rich cultural and research heritage. There are documented examples where researchers are attempting to preserve important work, research samples, museum and archival collections, and other objects of national heritage, moving them to safer regions or placing them in underground storage (Stone, 2022b; Stone, 2022c). To the authors' knowledge, to date, there is no comprehensive list or information about how much research material, data, or libraries have been damaged or irretrievably destroyed. The current day-to-day state of life, including sudden sirens, bombing, displaced living quarters (e.g., underground in bunkers, shelters or metros), the need to take care of others or worry about war-related safety, and constant negative news and anxiety, do not create an environment that is conducive to focus, or to engage in productive work, study or research. Many citizens have left their homes and jobs to defend the country, and even those who are not directly involved in the country's military defence, and who may be fortunate to be in safer conditions in regions where there are no active hostilities, except for the constant threat of air and missile strikes, may have shifted their attention from usual peacetime activities to other more relevant ones, such as volunteer assistance to victims or the military, community support (e.g., food distribution, group support and counselling, etc.), or other socially important functions (Gaind et al., 2022). Three examples of the involvement of academics and educational establishments may illustrate this well. Early in the invasion, a volunteer centre opened in the Scientific Library of the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, where they weaved camouflage nets for the front, and received and distributed humanitarian goods (medicines, food, clothing, children's items, toys and hygiene products) (Lviv University, 2022). Secondly, teachers and students of the National University of Ostroh Academy are working in the volunteer centre in Rivne, which is also engaged in the logistics of humanitarian goods (Kostenkova, 2022). Thirdly, immigrants from regions where active hostilities are taking place live in the buildings of higher education institutions and their dormitories, for example in Poltava (Dorotych, 2022). Related to societal imbalance, the number of refugees (mostly women, children and the elderly) is growing, both within the country and those seeking refuge in other countries. Statistics for 21 June 2022, indicate that an estimated 5.2 million refugees, or almost 12% of the total population of Ukraine, had moved to another country, mainly in neighbouring Poland (~1.1 million), Republic of Moldova (~0.8 million), Romania (~0.8 million), Slovakia (~0.7 million) and other European Union (EU) and non-EU countries, including the Russian Federation (~1.3 million) (UNHCR, 2022b). Regarding the number of migrants to Russia, it should be noted that there is a large amount of evidence of forced deportations, kidnapping or the only open way out of the war zone (Deutsch & Berg, 2022). The most recently available statistics (24 June 2022) indicate that in addition to the ~5 million people who have left Ukraine, more than 7 million, the internally displaced persons, have relocated to safer regions in the west and centre of the country (IOM, 2022). For the most part, the conditions in which refugees find themselves do not allow them to return to a stable and peaceful life and fulfil their professional duties. The same restriction and limitations apply to major population-dense cities in the east and south of the country, such as Kharkhiv, Mariupol, Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, which are under occupation or in a state of active hostilities. When considering an optimal study and work environment, it is also important to consider the physical health of Ukrainian citizens. In addition to the risks of death and injury, there are also problems with the stable supply of food, water and medicine to regions where active hostilities are taking place. In such locations, the provision of medical care may be insufficient or even non-existent. Cognizant that a global pandemic COVID-19 is still ongoing, according to statistics available 24 July 2022. Ukraine had just over 5 million confirmed cases and 108,622 deaths, while ~34% of the total population had received two shots of the vaccine (WHO, 2022). There is also a risk of the outbreak of several other diseases (Stone, 2022). This may also impact public health around the world (McKee & Murphy, 2022) given that the Ukrainian population is in physical contact, due to mass migration, with populations of recipient countries. There are also obvious psychological consequences of this war that do not allow citizens to return to a peaceful and productive life, maybe even for a long time, including post-traumatic syndromes, depression, trauma, and nervous disorders of varying severity, any or all of which may impact an entire generation of Ukrainians, ranging from children to the elderly (Gonçalves Júnior et al., 2022; Jawaid Nencki, 2022; McKee & Murphy, 2022). Compounding the economic slowdown caused by COVID-19, the Russo-Ukrainian war will impact the economies of Ukraine, the Russian Federation, and the global economy overall (World Bank, 2022). Most recent estimates indicate that the gross domestic product (GDP) of Ukraine will shrink by 30%–50% in 2022 (Matters, 2022). Ukraine's GDP was $US 164 billion in 2021 while current estimated costs to destroyed civilian infrastructure are currently around $US 270 billion (Financial Times, 2022). The Ukrainian Ministry of Finance and the Kyiv School of Economics estimated that, as of 11 April, overall financial losses caused by the war amounted to $US 564–600 billion (Interfax, 2022). However, as the war drags on, the situation is worsening every day. Food security of Ukrainian and global populations is one of the most profound socio-economic factors that have been, and will continue to be, severely affected by the war. Ukraine is one of the world's largest exporters of grains and cereals, so the destruction of industrial, agricultural and transport infrastructure, as well as a projected decline in yields in 2022, are already posing risks to food security in the Middle East and Africa, and rising food prices around the world (IGC, 2022; Nature Editorial, 2022a; World Bank, 2022). The Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), António Guterres, claimed that ~1.7 billion people, about 33% of which already live in poverty, are experiencing 'disruptions in food, energy and finance systems that are triggering increases in poverty and hunger' (UN, 2022). While keeping in mind the socioeconomic factors briefly discussed above that are also influencing the Ukrainian academy, the purpose of this article was to consider the public positions of several leading publishers, as well as the views and opinions of individual scholars and academics on how the scientific community should treat Russia-affiliated academics and research institutions in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Based on information from various sources, we considered the situation of the Ukrainian academy before and during the ongoing war. We collected samples of appeals for help from the Ukrainian Academy to the world scientific community, as well as samples of academic sanctions by various institutions around the world that have been imposed on Russia. We also collected samples of public appeals from representatives of the Russian academy that reflect their attitude to the military actions of their country. We also collected and edited information on the reactions of international scientific publishers. Finally, we noted the position of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), whose recommendations scientific publishers may rely on when deciding on whether to impose personal or institutional sanctions. After the Revolution of Dignity, which took place in Ukraine on 30 November 2013 to 23 February 2014, there were hopes for an improvement in the state of the Ukrainian academy due to its focus on Europe and the departure from outdated Soviet traditions. However, those expectations were not met, and government spending on science remained low and was used inefficiently (Schiermeier, 2016), researchers' institutions were not modernized, and low salaries did not inspire the emergence of young scientists (Schiermeier, 2019). Moreover, Ukraine lost important scientific facilities in Crimea after its annexation by Russia in 2014 (Nazarovets, 2018), and about 12,000 scientists were forced to emigrate internally from parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts occupied by pro-Russian militants, having to adapt to new living and working conditions (Oleksiyenko et al., 2020; Schiermeier, 2016). Thus, even before 24 February 2022, there was a disappointing trend to reduce the number of research institutions and scientists that were engaged in research and development in Ukraine, from 115,800 people in 2013 to 51,400 in 2020 (Pysarenko et al., 2021). As of April 2022, there were 652 higher education institutions (The Only State Electronic Database on Education, 2022a) and 186 research institutions in Ukraine (The Only State Electronic Database on Education, 2022b). At the end of 2020, more than half (52.0%) of Ukrainian researchers worked in research institutions and higher education institutions of Kyiv, 15.5% in the Kharkiv oblast, 8.1% in the Dnipropetrovsk oblast, and less than a quarter in the 22 other regions of Ukraine (Fig. 1). In 2020, 45.4% of researchers were women (Pysarenko et al., 2021). Source: Data according to United States Electronic Database on Education, 22.04.2022 The Times Higher (THE) Education World University Rankings 2022 (THE, 2021) includes 10 Ukrainian higher education institutions (from Sumy, Lviv, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Dnipro, Chernivtsi cities), and even though 15 provided data, they did not meet the eligibility criteria to receive a rank (Table 1). Accordingly, the six regions (cities) mentioned above, where the main academic potential of Ukraine is concentrated, namely the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv and Kharkiv and Sumy, which are close to the border with the Russian Federation, have been under attack and have suffered active hostilities. Battle of Sumy from 24 February to 4 April (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Sumy) Missile strikes on Sumy and Sumy oblast Battle of Kharkiv from 24 February until 21 April (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kharkiv_(2022)) Missile strikes on Kharkiv and Kharkiv oblast Battle of Kharkiv from 24 February until 21 April Missile strikes on Kharkiv and Kharkiv oblast Battle of Kyiv from 25 February to 2 April (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kyiv_(2022)) Missile strikes on Kyiv and Kyiv oblast Battle of Kyiv from 25 February to 2 April Missile strikes on Kyiv and Kyiv oblast Battle of Kharkiv from 24 February until 21 April Missile strikes on Kharkiv and Kharkiv oblast Many research organizations from around the world, due to the war, have provided shelter to researchers from Ukraine, urgently creating special programs, internships, projects, and other initiatives. Several examples may be found in Table 2. However, it is obvious that the number of such proposals is very limited and much lower than the actual number of scientists in Ukraine. It is also worth noting that male researchers of military age (18–60 years) are not exempt from mobilization (Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, 1993; Zelenskyy, 2022b), so their prospect of finding alternative prospects abroad is currently extremely limited. Mobilization in Ukraine is general, that is, it takes place throughout Ukraine and in four stages (Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, 2014): the first three stages involve men with military experience, who served since 2014, or who graduated from military departments of higher education. The fourth stage involves all men who have no restrictions on health or age. The first stage began on 24 February (Zelenskyy, 2022a). As the mobilization plans are marked as 'secret', there is no official information on what stage of mobilization is currently underway, but as of 25 June, there is no evidence that the last stage is taking place (Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, 2022). Thus, many male researchers that Ukraine is not yet involved in hostilities may find themselves 'trapped': on one hand, they cannot leave Ukraine to continue research in other countries, and, on the other hand, for the same reasons described above, they are unable to continue quality research in Ukraine. Realistically speaking, the male Ukrainian research community can likely only become fully active once the war ends, when physical reconstruction of damaged or destroyed research facilities occurs, and when there is stability in food security, society and mental health. Evidently, it is impossible to predict the prospects for the development of academia and science in Ukraine, even in the distant future, given the physical, socio-cultural and economic losses, and forced emigration, after which some professionals might not return, leading them to change their professional activities and objectives (Gaind et al., 2022; Naujokaitytė, 2022). International economic, trade and personal sanctions were imposed against Russia after the invasion of Ukraine in February 2014 and the annexation of Crimea in March 2014. Even though the impact of those sanctions on the economic status of the Russian Federation was significant (Fjaertoft & Overland, 2015), their main to finance the war and impose costs on Russia's for the invasion and the of the not a new open invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. In of the United the United and other imposed a of new sanctions against Russia, economic, energy and in In on June 2022, the the of sanctions against Russia 2022a). Many also announced a of their with Russia from its organizations around the world International The have also Russian from in international et al., 2022). There is also a of to with or representatives of Russian et al., 2022). Ukrainian scientists on the of for support to the world's academic community, including global of scientific of of of higher education institutions in the world, and other leading institutions, with a to impose sanctions on the Russian scientific community, to the of military Several examples may be found in Table 2022 2022 In response to the war, scientific institutions in many have with the Russian Federation 2022; 2022; Nature Editorial, 2022b; Stone, 2022c). In the European the of for Russian institutions in the Europe research and the of for with the prospect of 2022b; 2022). The European for Russian and Russia's and as an 2022). Russia's against Ukraine, that it the of Russian and that the war against Ukraine, as a for missile or by Russian and military to Ukraine its in the of Science, while its Russian 2022). The which the world's higher education institutions, it with in Russia and not Russian or Russia as a place to study 2022). As one example of an individual research taking a the of on 25 February 2022, after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, its with (Stone, 2022c). However, it should be noted that the of of Africa, the Middle East and which are on Russia, have from Russia's actions 2022; 2022). not all scientific institutions around the world have the of a scientific (Stone, 2022c). the of sanctions against the Russian Federation is considered an for the end of this war and is one of the of assistance by Ukraine. This is while the invasion and support for Ukraine are important to Ukrainians, these cannot the war and its humanitarian et al., 2022). However, even after six of the war and some whether the sanctions have been as as et al., & 2022). of the main against the of academic restrictions for scholars from Russian institutions is that there have been several public appeals from them the war, which can be considered a in the of the Russian Federation 2022). In the of Russian scientists and science against the war with on 24 February 2022 on the of the Russian science et al., 2022). We that this from the for some it still be found in the but over it also from new of the on a which was only in February 2022, the last is as and whose of researchers who do not work in Russia. The that more than scientists 2022) have already the but due to the of the it is to or this all of the have their and some that they work in institutions the Russian to the for and Economics of of the National School of in Russia, there were scientists in 2021 2021). Thus, on these only about of all Russian scientists have the the Russian and Ukrainian researchers are by a long of scientific which not in some even after the annexation of Crimea in 2014. several Ukrainian researchers claimed that they to their Russian after the Russian invasion but did not receive any of support from them & 2022; 2022a; Stone, 2022b). In the National of Ukraine 2022) that it Russian scientists with an to out against the war and in response received or support for a military invasion of Ukraine. it is government support or of we have no Moreover, Russian scholars have several official appeals in support of the Russian and the of the of the Russian Federation to an invasion of Ukraine. Several examples may be found in Table is, even though Russia of the military invasion of Ukraine, their number is with the number of citizens who fully support the war. This is not only by public some of which are above, but also by the of 2022; 2022). It is not known how much of this can be or whether it been in of the actions of the Russian government there is currently no The that some scientific institutions around the world, along with support for the Ukrainian academy, also support to researchers and students from Russia and them to the consequences of sanctions imposed on these countries, caused some as well as among 2022). Ukrainian scientists have also to scientific publishers around the world to scientific work by from the Russian Federation (MESU, 2022b; 2022b). scientific publishers have Ukraine, military financial assistance to war Ukrainian researchers to their However, most scientific publishers did not to the to from Russian of Russian that it will do more than by the of scientific around the world, and will not in the scientific community, and may the global by 2022; Nature Editorial, 2022b). We the positions of 25 scientific publishers. The list of publishers (Table is on the of the Russian for of to information & 2022), which lists publishers that Russian researchers consider important for their work, as well as a list of publishers who have the on Ukraine about the to Russia's war against Ukraine was found in publishers (Table publishers the actions of the Russian Federation and support to Ukrainian researchers to some open to Only 15 publishers announced the of with institutions from Russia and of the publishers a for from Russian institutions, on the Committee on Publication Ethics 2022) for On 15 scientific publishers, including University Nature and a on Ukraine to their and in Russia and on Ukraine, 2022). also that they not to work by from these countries, on position was on 2013 and the work of of scientific with from the Republic of sanctions against the country from some to research The situation the a clear of how publishers in a After a to its of for the representatives of against making on on information about the or of the On 10 March 2022, in with Russia's actions on the of Ukraine, these recommendations in to impose sanctions on Russian 2022). However, the to impose sanctions on Russian there is still among of sanctions it is one of the most important and to to on Russian citizens to end the war 2022; et al., 2022). In with Russian researchers while Russian military may be as by affected Ukrainian researchers, while with Russian scholars did not this war et al., 2022). In and on there are that some have one from a Russian and some have to such for personal of the of which is by was discussed when its announced its to the of from Russian institutions 2022; 2022). However, the of the and that the position of the not the as it is not a on by Russian on that it is a on Russian research institutions that are by the Russian example the of and which is also by Russia's but did not support a of from Russian institutions, that the the various not science in the long 2022). also the that in the of economic sanctions against Russia by their countries, they cannot for to from Russian institutions, can they for 2022). For that it the actions of the Russian Federation and will no or from Russian organizations for open in any of At the same time, it also to the recommendations 2022). this that the not to work by Russian or to them for This is not clear to The the Russian Federation and Ukraine, which a clear leading to the invasion of the by the in February of 2022. This a war. the and the socio-economic consequences of this war, and Ukrainian and In the of Ukrainian the death of family, and a and a infrastructure are not conducive to work or to research. In some current have forced emigration, mainly to neighbouring but socio-economic support there is not In the of Russian negative given their or the military of the Russian Federation, is leading to their and, in sanctions. to scientific within the Russian and Ukrainian research the situation also a negative impact on the work of researchers from other countries. Given the current the of sanctions against working Russian academic institutions and On the one hand, the of restrictions is directly to the of development and Russian even in the of the destruction by the Russian and the on Ukrainian science and It is obvious that some publishers, and for not with Russian researchers in such as the to which publishers in of should more attention to this as their recommendations did not an that considered all of the On the other hand, we that the of publishers sanctions on Russian academic or research institutions also a It is important for publishers to in a and to have clear to all that in this war-related including the of economic of whether they to impose or In publishers need to reflect on how to continue to with Russian scientific institutions, and their country imposed economic sanctions against Russia. publishers who do not to with sanctions and international due to their economic such as to or article On what can publishers their to or a paper that is by an of a Russian even more so they are or publishers that to by these it is is such in on or in restrictions on and of in an academic we do not to an to the of we scholars to in and to and to the academic community, given the of individual and institutional sanctions in the of and the There are about the consequences of they help to the impact will they have on the development of science in the and distant will they the of individual We that the to these and other will only be known once the war is no and the and that are in academic on this a of the and economic of this war. only and the of war can allow of all involved to return to a state of and to focus on academic and At the same time, cannot be to be on the of a country's of its and of its which are for the of science and The first to for Science and and for to the and by The no of of to this and to the this and and for the and

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