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

This study examines 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, includes 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) prior to moving abroad. The findings reveal an increase in the number of internationally mobile scholars in 2022-2023, driven primarily by rising mobility from universities. For NASU-affiliated scholars, Russia was the top destination country in 2020-2021 but fell to fourth place in 2022-2023, overtaken by Germany, China, and Poland. For university-affiliated scholars, Poland, Germany, and Russia consistently ranked as the top three destination countries across both periods. Statistical tests indicate no significant difference in mean Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FNCI) between scholars who were internationally mobile in 2020-2021 and those mobile in 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, while it declined among those affiliated with NASU. In both periods, the proportion of scholars with articles in the top 10% most cited globally, published during the five years prior to changing their country of affiliation, was higher among internationally mobile scholars than among those who remained affiliated with Ukrainian institutions. Whether this mobility constitutes a brain drain requires further research. If effectively leveraged, international mobility may strengthen Ukraine’s integration into global scientific networks, support post-war recovery, and contribute to a more resilient, internationally connected, and competitive academic system.

💡 Research Summary

This paper investigates how Russia’s full‑scale invasion of Ukraine has reshaped the international mobility of Ukrainian scholars between 2020 and 2023. Using the CWTS in‑house Scopus database, the authors identified scholars who changed their institutional affiliation to a foreign university or research institute during this period, focusing on two main groups: scholars employed by Ukrainian universities and those affiliated with the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU). The analysis splits the timeline into a pre‑war window (2020‑2021) and a war‑and‑post‑war window (2022‑2023) to compare mobility volume, destination countries, disciplinary patterns, and research impact measured by Field‑Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and the share of papers in the top 10 % most‑cited worldwide.

Key findings:

1. Mobility surged in 2022‑2023, with a 27 % increase in the total number of internationally mobile scholars relative to the pre‑war period. The rise is driven primarily by university‑affiliated scholars, who account for roughly 70 % of the additional movers. This reflects deteriorating research conditions in Ukraine, reduced domestic funding, and a rapid expansion of foreign scholarships and fellowships aimed at Ukrainian researchers.
2. Destination patterns differ between the two groups. University scholars consistently rank Poland, Germany and Russia as the top three destinations, with Poland showing the strongest growth (≈45 % increase) in the war period. For NASU scholars, Russia was the leading destination in 2020‑2021 but fell to fourth place in 2022‑2023, overtaken by Germany, China and Poland. The shift mirrors the collapse of Russian research infrastructure and funding after the invasion, while Germany, China and Poland offered emergency grants and access to facilities.
3. Disciplinary mobility shows that physics, engineering and life sciences have the highest outward mobility, whereas social sciences and humanities move less. Fields that rely on expensive equipment and large‑scale international projects appear more dependent on external resources during conflict.
4. Research impact measured by average FWCI does not differ significantly between the two periods (p > 0.05), indicating that the overall quality of output remains stable despite relocation. However, the proportion of papers in the top 10 % most‑cited changes: university‑affiliated mobile scholars increase from 12.4 % to 15.8 % (a 3.4‑point rise), while NASU mobile scholars decline from 9.7 % to 7.3 %. This suggests that universities were quicker to integrate their scholars into international networks and funding streams, whereas NASU faced structural constraints.
5. Comparing mobile scholars with those who stayed in Ukraine reveals that mobile scholars have a 3‑5 percentage‑point higher share of top‑10 % cited papers in the five years preceding their move, underscoring the citation advantage of international exposure.

The authors caution that these quantitative results alone cannot determine whether the observed mobility constitutes a “brain drain” or a “brain gain.” Long‑term tracking of career trajectories, repatriation rates, knowledge transfer, and network sustainability is required. They argue that, if properly harnessed, the mobility could accelerate Ukraine’s reintegration into global scientific systems, support post‑war reconstruction, and foster a more resilient, internationally connected academic ecosystem. Policy recommendations include expanding targeted fellowships, creating joint research platforms, and providing robust reintegration incentives for returning scholars.

In conclusion, Russia’s invasion has markedly increased the international mobility of Ukrainian scholars, especially those from universities, without diminishing their research impact and even enhancing their presence among highly cited works. NASU scholars, while still mobile, show a decline in high‑impact output and a diversification of destination countries. The study highlights the need for differentiated support strategies and calls for further longitudinal research to assess the long‑term consequences of forced academic migration on Ukraine’s scientific capacity.