Ukrainian academy president seeks to protect science as war escalates | Science
KYIV, UKRAINE—In a dramatic escalation of the war in Ukraine, dozens of Russian missiles and kamikaze drones rained down on civilian targets across the country on 10 October, killing 19 and wounding scores more. Several academic institutions came under fire in the attack. One rocket slammed into Kyiv’s Shevchenko Park, blowing out windows at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv’s science library, its Institute of Philology, the National Museum of Natural History, and the Ministry of Education and Science. Also damaged in the blast was the headquarters of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU). Fortunately, most staff were working remotely that day, and the few in the building at the time were unharmed.
For NASU President Anatoly Zagorodny, 71, repairing the headquarters is the latest entry on a long to-do list. At the top is maintaining a scientific pulse in NASU’s 160 institutes and 38 R&D enterprises as the war drains Ukraine’s budget. That includes keeping up salary payments to some 27,000 academy staff. Elite researchers who’ve stuck it out in Ukraine are about to get a shot in the arm: The U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN) are finalizing details of a new program for 2023 that will invite proposals from teams of Polish scientists and colleagues in Ukraine.
As Russia steps up attacks on civilian infrastructure, Zagorodny, a theoretical physicist, must also contend with electricity, heating, and water outages at institutes that could harm sensitive instrumentation and spoil research samples. Once the war ends, he’ll face the daunting challenge of luring home hundreds of talented researchers who fled the country and are now working in labs abroad.
Science interviewed Zagorodny at NASU’s headquarters a few days before the missile strike. This transcript was edited for brevity and clarity.
Q: How did you react when Russia invaded on 24 February?
A: I woke up at 5 a.m. to the sound of explosions. I later realized it was a cruise missile attack on an airfield near Kyiv. By 7:30 I was in my office and the academy’s vice presidents soon joined me. We discussed priority measures for the institutes, including working remotely when possible, preparing bomb shelters, moving valuable equipment to safe places, securing windows from blast waves, and protecting museum exhibits.
Q: Since then, have you had contact with the Russian Academy of Sciences?
A: We’ve had no contact. They haven’t condemned the aggression or expressed even the slightest sympathy for the Ukrainian people or for Ukrainian scientists. It was a shock for us. In such a situation, we cannot support any relations with Russian or Belorussian scientists.
Q: Many Ukrainian scientists have taken refuge outside the country.
A: More than 600 in Poland alone. Around 1300 in all.
Q: How will you entice them to come home after the war?
A: It really will be a big challenge. We are glad our colleagues found shelter, but we must think about how to attract them to come back after the victory. The same is true for the younger generation. Many Ukrainian students are studying elsewhere in Europe, so there is a lack of students in our universities. We need to expand international cooperation in every possible way, but at the same time ensure that such cooperation doesn’t contribute to the brain drain.
Q: What’s being done to help those who stayed?
A: There is progress in establishing grant programs for researchers in Ukraine. The Austrian Academy of Sciences, ALLEA [All European Academies], PAN, and others have announced or are going to announce special calls for support. And we are in conversation with PAN and NAS on their new program. We also appealed to leading manufacturers for scientific equipment. As of today, four companies—Agilent, Bruker, Carl Zeiss, and Analytik Jena—have nobly decided to donate urgently needed instruments totaling more than $4 million. We’re deeply grateful.
Q: With Russia stepping up its attacks on civilian infrastructure, you could face a long winter.
A: We will make recommendations to institutes about how to save equipment and infrastructure if they lose heating. Such attacks on electricity stations, on water supply—it’s terrorism, pure and simple. But Ukrainian people are united. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t believe we will be victorious.
KYIV, UKRAINE—In a dramatic escalation of the war in Ukraine, dozens of Russian missiles and kamikaze drones rained down on civilian targets across the country on 10 October, killing 19 and wounding scores more. Several academic institutions came under fire in the attack. One rocket slammed into Kyiv’s Shevchenko Park, blowing out windows at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv’s science library, its Institute of Philology, the National Museum of Natural History, and the Ministry of Education and Science. Also damaged in the blast was the headquarters of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU). Fortunately, most staff were working remotely that day, and the few in the building at the time were unharmed.
For NASU President Anatoly Zagorodny, 71, repairing the headquarters is the latest entry on a long to-do list. At the top is maintaining a scientific pulse in NASU’s 160 institutes and 38 R&D enterprises as the war drains Ukraine’s budget. That includes keeping up salary payments to some 27,000 academy staff. Elite researchers who’ve stuck it out in Ukraine are about to get a shot in the arm: The U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN) are finalizing details of a new program for 2023 that will invite proposals from teams of Polish scientists and colleagues in Ukraine.
As Russia steps up attacks on civilian infrastructure, Zagorodny, a theoretical physicist, must also contend with electricity, heating, and water outages at institutes that could harm sensitive instrumentation and spoil research samples. Once the war ends, he’ll face the daunting challenge of luring home hundreds of talented researchers who fled the country and are now working in labs abroad.
Science interviewed Zagorodny at NASU’s headquarters a few days before the missile strike. This transcript was edited for brevity and clarity.
Q: How did you react when Russia invaded on 24 February?
A: I woke up at 5 a.m. to the sound of explosions. I later realized it was a cruise missile attack on an airfield near Kyiv. By 7:30 I was in my office and the academy’s vice presidents soon joined me. We discussed priority measures for the institutes, including working remotely when possible, preparing bomb shelters, moving valuable equipment to safe places, securing windows from blast waves, and protecting museum exhibits.
Q: Since then, have you had contact with the Russian Academy of Sciences?
A: We’ve had no contact. They haven’t condemned the aggression or expressed even the slightest sympathy for the Ukrainian people or for Ukrainian scientists. It was a shock for us. In such a situation, we cannot support any relations with Russian or Belorussian scientists.
Q: Many Ukrainian scientists have taken refuge outside the country.
A: More than 600 in Poland alone. Around 1300 in all.
Q: How will you entice them to come home after the war?
A: It really will be a big challenge. We are glad our colleagues found shelter, but we must think about how to attract them to come back after the victory. The same is true for the younger generation. Many Ukrainian students are studying elsewhere in Europe, so there is a lack of students in our universities. We need to expand international cooperation in every possible way, but at the same time ensure that such cooperation doesn’t contribute to the brain drain.
Q: What’s being done to help those who stayed?
A: There is progress in establishing grant programs for researchers in Ukraine. The Austrian Academy of Sciences, ALLEA [All European Academies], PAN, and others have announced or are going to announce special calls for support. And we are in conversation with PAN and NAS on their new program. We also appealed to leading manufacturers for scientific equipment. As of today, four companies—Agilent, Bruker, Carl Zeiss, and Analytik Jena—have nobly decided to donate urgently needed instruments totaling more than $4 million. We’re deeply grateful.
Q: With Russia stepping up its attacks on civilian infrastructure, you could face a long winter.
A: We will make recommendations to institutes about how to save equipment and infrastructure if they lose heating. Such attacks on electricity stations, on water supply—it’s terrorism, pure and simple. But Ukrainian people are united. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t believe we will be victorious.
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