Rescue Mission For Ukrainian Science

Ukrainian female scientists are building bridges to Germany and Europe, thereby fostering academic freedom in Ukraine

Science in Ukraine looks back on a long history shaped by the influence of the Soviet Union and Russia. The numerous and ongoing repressions have given rise to a highly resilient system of research and development. Under the current conditions of war, however, this system is increasingly reaching its limits. Two Ukrainian female scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition are exploring how Ukrainian science and economy can survive the war and, to that end, are building important bridges between Germany, Europe, and Ukraine.

"Ukrainian researchers are working under, at times, unbearable conditions caused by the war", says Anastasiia Lutsenko of the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition. "Freedom of research has been disrupted by occupation, restricted access to scientific teams and labs." Lutsenko was leading author of an UNESCO report that details the dire situation facing Ukrainian researchers.

According to the report, about 30 percent of all research institutions in Ukraine have already been damaged or destroyed by the war. Many Ukrainian scientists lost their jobs during the course of Russia's war of aggression. Funding is frequently running out, especially for scientists deployed to the front lines. Unless they joined international research institutions, talent and knowledge are lost, and collaborations fall apart. "After the war began, knowledge transfer has been disrupted severely, as senior researchers - who naturally serve as connectors in the knowledge flow from professors to junior researchers - knew that they may have to go to war", says Anastasiia Lutsenko. According to the UNESCO report, 169 research projects have already been interrupted as a result of this and due to destroyed laboratory equipment and research infrastructure. Also, entire fields like marine or biodiversity research are suffering, as scientists can no longer access their valuable research station at the Black-Sea, the Askania-Nova Biosphere Nature Reserve or the Karadag Nature Reserve in the south-eastern parts of the country.

Behind all these numbers, of course, lie personal stories, which the report also addresses. According to Lutsenko, some 150 researchers are believed to have already lost their lives due to the war. Caused by the ongoing threat to life and limb, approximately 22,000 scientists are now considered as internally displaced persons.

Ambassadors of Science

Anastasiia Lutsenko is researching this problem through the lens of systems theory. The scientific system functions as a network in which researchers share knowledge, constantly exchange ideas on various research questions, and always maintain a critical eye on each others work. A large, international, multi-centered and integrated network is more resilient than many small, disconnected networks that cannot communicate with one another. Ukraine faces precisely this kind of fragmentation. However, the reasons for this go beyond displacement and destruction. "During the first months of the war, occupiers in eastern Ukraine were using Wi-Fi signals to locate laboratories," says Lutsenko. As a result, many had to disconnect their labs and servers from the internet or even the power-grid to avoid being found or even destroyed by Russia. "Science is key for regional development, technological independence and long-term prosperity. If science is not supported, this is devastating for the country". The major challenge, according to Lutsenko, is therefore to integrate research institutions in Ukraine - those that are at risk or have already been disconnected - into an international research network.

The Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, for example, has successfully demonstrated this approach. After the outburst of the war, the Munich-based institute launched a call inviting Ukrainian researchers to apply for scholarships. As a result, seven female and one male researcher from Ukraine came to Germany; six of them are still working at the institute today.

Among them, alongside Anastasiia Lutsenko, is Liudmyla Petrenko. She is an industrial and business economist and arrived at the institute shortly after the attack on Ukraine. Like Anastasiia Lutsenko, who has traveled to nearly 40 countries for work, Petrenko had close ties to the Western academic community, as well. "In March 2022, the Max Planck Institute offered me to leave the country and come to Munich as soon as I can", says Petrenko. "I decided to move only because of their invitation, I would never have left Kiew otherwise."

Win-Win for Ukraine and Germany

Liudmyla Petrenko sees herself as a practitioner and builds bridges between Germany, the European Union, and Ukraine: "In Eastern Europe, the research community often faces pressure from the top. I prefer pushing from the bottom via networking between the East and the West and transferring knowledge across the borders". This was the only way to conduct research freely and foster potential, says Petrenko. "Being the bridge person is not comfortable-I travel back and forth a lot between Germany and Ukraine. But this is what I want to do. It's my way of contributing. And of course I hear my colleagues, who are saying 'We need you!'"

Liudmyla Petrenko played a key role in advancing Ukrainian biomedical innovations, helping to bring an anti-cancer vaccine from the research and development phase to the commercialization stage. The pharmaceutical industry is deeply rooted in Ukraine; after all, during the Soviet era, the country accounted for 70 percent of total pharmaceutical production. Ukraine's wealth of expertise and industrial heritage is coming into its own, especially now during wartime, because a stable supply of medical care is essential. "Pharmaceutical manufacturers are keeping prices low, thereby helping citizens survive," says Petrenko.

And it is precisely in this industrial segment that Liudmyla Petrenko sees a benefit for Germany, the European Union, and Ukraine. Since 2025, the Volkswagen Foundation has been funding the project "From Legacy to Leadership". As part of it, Petrenko and her team are drafting a roadmap for the reconstruction of the Ukrainian pharmaceutical industry in partnership with the EU.

This has advantages for both sides. The pharmaceutical industry is based on the chemical industry, which is complex and operates to the highest standards with lots of well-educated personnel-and continues to function in Ukraine even under wartime conditions. The West can learn from Ukraine how to build resilient industries. At the same time, Ukraine benefits from access to Western research networks and international collaborations. "Here at the Max Planck Institute, I've learned a lot about scientific methodology and approaches that are crucial for better policymaking in the Ukraine. This helps me to better advise Ukrainian ministries", says Petrenko.

Missed Nobel Prizes

Resilience, freedom of research, and research collaboration - these concepts are hard to grasp for outsiders. The traveling exhibition "Freedom in the Equation - Lost Nobel Prizes" zeroes in on these themes and asks a very concrete question: What - or rather, whom - does the world lose when scientists cannot conduct research freely?

Max Planck researcher Anastasiia Lutsenko laid the evidence-based foundation for the exhibition with her UNESCO report and contributes these via her involvement in the Science At Risk project. "When it becomes personal, it is much easier to understand what problems is. We bring the underlying issues to an emotional level", says Anastasiia Lutsenko. "For me personally, this art exhibition - just like my research - is an extremely important contribution to preserving Ukraine's scientific heritage for the long term."

Artistic portraits tell the personal stories of ten Ukrainian scientists whose research, careers, and lives were violently interrupted or ended by political repression, war, oppression, and a lack of scientific freedom. The artist is no stranger to the public: Niklas Elmehed creates the official portraits of newly awarded Nobel laureates every year. His portraits convey a powerful and symbolic message: These individuals could have won Nobel Prizes; they could have changed the world if they had been visible on the international stage.

Truly noble

Nobel laureate Ferenc Krausz of the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics also highlights the importance of collaboration. A short documentary on the website of the appeal Peace4Europa shows, how Nobel laureates and physicists Serge Haroche and Ferenc Krausz set off for Ukraine on behalf of the Nobel Community - as a sign of solidarity with the people in Ukraine.

As part of the ongoing initiative Science4People, which received initial organizational support from the Max Planck Foundation, the initiative's founder, Ferenc Krausz, and his team also promote educational and developmental opportunities for children and young people in war-torn and crisis-stricken regions, with a focus on Ukraine.

Text: Tobias Beuchert

Background Information on the exhibition

Opening Event: July 1st 2026, 18:30 at Ukrainische freie Universität, Große Aula der Hochschule für Philosophie, Kaulbachstraße 31-33, Munich

Details and registration on the website of the Ukrainische freie Universität.

Between July 2nd and July 15th the exhibition is on display at: Ukrainische freie Universität, Barellistr. 9a, 80638 München

The art project "Freedom in the Equation - Lost Nobel Prizes" was created as part of the Science at Risk project with support from the popular science publication Kunsht and the ZMIN Foundation, in collaboration with Moia Nauka, Ukrainian Scientists at War, and the German-Ukrainian Society Ulm / Neu-Ulm e.V.