The Impact of the Russo‑Ukrainian War on Ukrainian Scholarly Publishing andResearch Directions: A Bibliometric Analysis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5644/ama2006-124.507Keywords:
Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War, Scientific Publishing, Full-Scale InvasionAbstract
Objectives. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has unfolded in two phases: the onset of the Donbas war and the annexation of Crimea in 2014, and the full-scale invasion in 2022. We examined the changes in Ukrainian scholarly publishing across these disruption periods.
Methods. Using Web of Science Core Collection and InCites data (1991–2024), we analyzed publication trends in Ukraine and Croatia, disciplinary composition, leading universities, city-level output in occupied territories, and international collaboration. Interrupted time series (ITS) models were specified with breakpoints at 2014 and 2022.
Results. Ukraine’s output increased from 331 articles in 1991 to 12,475 in 2021, then declined by 14.6% to 10,649 in 2024, whereas Croa- tia’s output remained comparatively stable. The segmented ITS showed significant growth before 2014, a steeper upward trend after 2014, and a decline after 2022. Croatia showed continued growth with a smaller, non-significant post-2022 slowdown. In Ukraine, the largest post-2022 declines were observed in Physical Sciences and Social Sciences, while Engineering and Technol- ogy appeared more resilient. City-level analyses in occupied territories showed an early break in 2014 in Donetsk and Luhansk, while output linked to Simferopol and Sevastopol was rapidly reclassified after 2014, with records increasingly indexed under Russia. After 2022, collaboration with Russia collapsed, whereas partnerships with Poland, Germany, and the USA expanded.
Conclusion. Ukrainian scholarly publishing showed phase-specific shifts in output and collaboration patterns that coincided with major geopolitical disruptions.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Maryna Kreslova, Livia Puljak, Damir Sapunar
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