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

Abstract

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.