37 articles tagged with voices from ukraine were found.
Ukrainian authorities estimate that at least 16,000 civilians have been abducted and are currently being unlawfully detained by Russia. Russia refuses to disclose the whereabouts of those it holds in captivity, with the obvious intention of placing these “disappeared” people outside the protection of the law. This is argued by the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group (KHPG), a Ukrainian human rights organization that, among other things, tries to locate missing Ukrainians, documents disappearances, supports families, and collects evidence that can be used in future legal processes.
By
Ninna Mörner
November 6, 2026
These three essays and the reports are unified by their rigorous examination of institutional and human resilience within Ukraine’s educational, social, and psychological infrastructure during the full-scale Russian invasion. Overall, the papers analyze how systemic military aggression necessitates a radical shift in pedagogical, sporting, and ethical paradigms. From “underground” teaching and learning at universities to the survival of youth athletic pipelines and the emotional endurance of faculty, these works highlight the intersection of emergency adaptation and national identity. For journal readers, this collection offers a rare empirical window into sectoral survival under existential threat, providing a blueprint for maintaining educational, intellectual, and physical sovereignty amidst the war in Ukraine.
Essay by
Ilona Kostikova
November 6, 2026
The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine has generated unprecedented threats to the nation’s educational system, compelling universities to develop innovative survival strategies against imperial aggression. Using Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University as a case study, this article examines how higher education functions as a decolonizing force during armed conflict. Drawing on document analysis, visual documentation, and thematic analysis, the study explores how wartime adaptations, such as transforming deep bomb shelters into classrooms and student housing, preserve the right to education and reinforce Ukraine’s intellectual sovereignty. Student choice data reveal an empowered learning community navigating blended and distance learning according to safety needs. Ultimately, these subterranean and digital adaptations transcend pragmatic necessity; they constitute acts of epistemic resistance that safeguard cultural identity, institutional autonomy, and the nation’s right to produce its own knowledge. The “underground university” thus emerges as a practical manifestation of education’s decolonizing power during war.
Essay by
Tatiana Fomenko, Liudmyla Holubnycha, Tetiana Besarab, Svitlana Mykytiuk, and Denys Besarab
November 6, 2026
This study systematizes the transformative impacts of the full-scale military invasion on Ukraine’s youth sport education systems and substantiates multilevel recovery strategies within the Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) framework. The analysis focuses on how macrosystemic disruptions affect the pedagogical continuity and developmental pathways of young learners.
A qualitative analytical approach was employed and Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory provides the theoretical lens. The findings reveal a critical disintegration of the “talent pipeline” due to the destruction of educational infrastructure, the forced migration of the pedagogical core (coaching staff), and the militarization of sports-based learning in occupied territories. The results extend LTAD theory by demonstrating its structural vulnerability under prolonged crises and identifying primary pathways of institutional and educational erosion. Recovery requires a transition from emergency management to a resilient educational model that integrates psychosocial support into athletic training.
Essay by
Ihor Hrynchenko, Serhii Palevych, Ivan Danylishyn, Olena Chaika, and Vitalii Kyrpenko
November 6, 2026
This study empirically examines the psycho-emotional well-being and burnout-related symptoms of 94 academic staff from Kharkiv, Sumy, and Dnipro. Data collected via adaptive self-report instruments were analyzed using Spearman’s rank correlation. Results indicate substantial emotional strain, with 79.8% of respondents reporting moderate-to-high emotional exhaustion. The correlation analysis showed that respondents with direct personal connections to the war, such as relatives in the Armed Forces, were significantly more stressed and emotionally exhausted. Interestingly, despite high emotional exhaustion, negative affective reactions remained low, reflecting how collective professional identity and civil obligation as non-material resources mitigate cynicism and counteract the traditional Maslach Burnout Inventory model. Furthermore, functional impairment correlated powerfully with internal emotional exhaustion rather than external infrastructural disruptions. Consequently, support strategies must address individual trauma loads, reinforcing mission and purpose as key non-material resources to reduce long-term professional attrition.
Essay by
Yuliia Sytnykova, Liudmyla Rybalko, and Valentyna Tyurina
November 6, 2026
There are many difficulties and challenges for higher education in war zones. Rector Yurii Boichuk and Vice-
Rector Volodymyr Borysov, at H. S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University in Kharkiv, have
personal experience of providing education against all odds. They describe how they have been organizing the
educational programs at their university; Yurii Boichuk presents the work with strengthening the education for
Children with Special Needs (SEN) and Volodymyr Borysov describes the importance of providing both online
and offline education in times of war.
By
Yurii Boichuk and Volodymyr Borysov
November 6, 2026
The first news from Chornobyl was about gunfire near the Buriakivka radioactive waste storage facility. By noon there were images: Russian tanks near the Administrative Building No. 1 of the plant. Denys Vyshnevskyi, the Head of Department at Chornobyl Radiation and Ecological Biosphere Reserve writes here about the occupation and how life changed in the Exclusion Zone. For many research groups, 2022 became the year of accepting a bitter truth – Chornobyl research was being suspended indefinitely.
Essay by
Denys Vyshnevskiy
April 23, 2026
From the moment of its establishment, the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ) became a territory separated from the rest of the country: governed by different rules and a distinct internal logic. The isolation of the CEZ and the urgency of its tasks have shaped – and continue to shape – specific demands on the scientists who work there. Chornobyl science is also influenced by crises that have repeatedly redefined its priorities.
Essay by
Olena Pareniuk and Kateryna Shavanova
April 23, 2026
This essay examines the fate of Vilcha, a village that was forcibly abandoned twice within a single generation. Originally located in Polissia, the village was evacuated after the Chornobyl disaster. Its inhabitants were resettled to a newly built village in the Kharkiv region. This second village of Vilcha was occupied and subsequently destroyed during the Russian-Ukrainian war. Based on three waves of oral interviews conducted between 2016 and 2025, this essay explores the experiences of forced displacement, memory, and loss. Vilcha emerges as a poignant example of repeated forced migration caused by both technological disaster and war.
Essay by
Viktoria Naumenko
April 23, 2026
This essay examines innovative educational adaptations implemented in Kharkiv to ensure children’s right to education, considered as a manifestation of resilience in wartime. The research methodology employed a descriptive case study approach utilizing multiple data sources to ensure triangulation, including official reports from educational authorities; press releases; Ukrainian and foreign mass media platforms; documented observations of facilities and stakeholder testimonials; and personal notes, videos, and photos. The results indicate the interventions successfully provided safe learning environments for approximately 15,000 schoolchildren (30% of school-aged learners) by December 2025 The experience in Kharkiv offers transferable insights for educational continuity planning in conflict zones worldwide.
Essay by
Ilona Kostikova et al
April 23, 2026
Issue 2026, 3-4: 
Baltic Worlds covers; the Baltic Sea Region, Eastern Europe, Russia, CentralAsia, Caucasus and the Balkan area.