Ukrainian Educational and Scientific Potential After the Full-Scale Invasion: Socieconomic Challenges and Prospects

For Ukraine, which has historically been a hub of scientific and technological expertise, the paradigm of the knowledge economy has been a cornerstone of national advancement. However, the full-scale Russian invasion of 2022 has significantly disrupted the country’s development, posing severe challenges to education, research, and technological innovation. In particular, the war has led to the destruction of critical infrastructure, the displacement of skilled professionals, and a decline in government funding for scientific institutions. The educational sector, already grappling with pre-existing structural issues such as underfunding, has been further weakened by the conflict, resulting in declining global rankings and significant changes in student and researcher demographics. Universities and research institutions have had to rapidly adapt to new realities, with many shifting to online education, forming international collaborations, and securing external funding to sustain operations. The present article analyzes the key aspects of the functioning of the knowledge economy and education as its component in Ukraine under the conditions of ongoing military actions. Using data from the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, the World Bank, and Scopus, we analyze shifts in the funding structure of research projects. Special attention is given to demographic changes in higher education; employing a Bayesian binomial model with a beta prior, we quantify shifts in gender composition among university students and perform the evaluation of the statistical significance of the changes. In addition, the strategies employed by Ukrainian companies and educational institutions to adapt to the new conditions are analyzed. Particular emphasis is given to government and private initiatives supporting key sectors of the knowledge economy, as well as their importance for the recovery of Ukraine's economy after the war. The article explores the prospects for the post-war recovery of the country's scientific and innovative potential, emphasizing the need for investments in education, science, and the development of technological infrastructure. Possible development scenarios are presented, including the creation of innovative clusters and the active use of international experience to accelerate recovery and enhance Ukraine's competitiveness in the global knowledge economy.