Invasion Of Ukraine Research Articles

Do We Know Whether to Laugh or Cry? User Responses to @Ukraine’s Dark-humour Meme

This study investigates international users’ reception of a dark-humour meme tweeted by Ukraine’s governmental Twitter (X) account on 7 December 2021 as part of its exceptional cultural practice of posting humorous memes. Tweeters’ responses to the ‘headaches meme’ are examined through a discourse-analytic lens. An emphasis is placed on the appreciation of the humour (emanating from the meme or its contextual embedding) and other forms of humour support demonstrated by its online indicators. The overarching aim is to distil and compare user reactions to the meme in two sociopolitical contexts—before and after the invasion of Ukraine that Russia mounted on 24 February 2022—based on two equal quote tweet samples. While the findings reveal a relative decrease in humour appreciation after the invasion, the same diversified reactions encompassing humour support or its lack and politically polarised discourses making for participatory digital warfare are detected in both parts of the dataset.

Effects of blast exposure on anxiety and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among displaced Ukrainian populations.

Generalized anxiety and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are common among individuals forcibly displaced during war and conflict. Blast exposure may be one important contributor of such symptoms. The aims of this study were to provide data on blast-related experiences of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and to assess the influence of blast exposure on generalized anxiety, and PTSD flashbacks and nightmares. An online health needs survey was distributed to Ukrainian IDPs and refugees between April and July 2022 using Facebook Ads Manager. Participants reported whether they experienced blast exposure since the beginning of the invasion, and whether they took medication for a mental health condition before the war started. Finally, they completed measures of generalized anxiety (GAD-2), and PTSD flashbacks and nightmares. Analyses included 3253 IDPs and 5073 refugees (N = 8326). Results revealed that 67.6% of total participants- 79.9% of IDPs and 61.7% of refugees-reported blast exposure since Russia's invasion. Further, 69.1% (95% CI: 68.05, 70.15) of total participants met the cut-off for generalized anxiety in which further diagnostic evaluation was warranted. Compared to refugees, IDPs reported higher generalized anxiety and greater frequency of PTSD symptoms, specifically flashbacks and nightmares. Further analyses revealed that the impact of blast exposure on flashback frequency was stronger among IDPs compared to refugees (β = 0.51; t(8322) = 11.88, p < .0001, 95% CI: 0.43, 0.60) and among participants with pre-existing mental health conditions compared to those without (β = 0.18; t(8157) = 2.50, p = .013, 95% CI: 0.04, 0.33). Mental health and psychosocial support must be prioritised within humanitarian relief for both IDPs and refugees and especially among people with underlying mental health conditions.

The war in Ukraine, the Global South and the evolving global order

AbstractThis special section explores how nine key countries from the Global South have responded to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. As the Western attempt to build a global anti‐Russia coalition has largely failed, the focus on countries from the Global South becomes more important but remains under‐researched in the discipline. This introductory article offers the conceptual framework for the following empirical contributions. Based on the rational and constructivist school of thinking, we develop four guiding assumptions. Accordingly, we assume that foreign policy positioning to the war relates to the varied consequences of the conflict, can be related to strategic opportunism, displays pragmatic indifference or is value‐driven. Contributions to this special section offer a detailed empirical analysis according to these four conceptual categories.

The benefits of neutrality: Saudi foreign policy in the wake of the Ukraine war

AbstractThis article assesses Saudi Arabia's ambivalent response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. On the one hand, the Kingdom has publicly condemned Russia's military aggression as contravening international law. Yet, on the other, it has also failed to take serious measures against Moscow, notably by refusing to join in Western attempts to prevent Russia from earning hydrocarbon revenues on the international market. Saudi Arabia has adopted a neutral position instead, offering to mediate between the warring parties while simultaneously repeatedly rebuffing its longtime ally the United States. By reviewing the Kingdom's foreign policy moves and narratives since the war's onset, it is argued Saudi officials are acting perfectly rationally in that they strive to achieve the optimum outcome as per their definition of Saudi national interests in this conflict, thereby pressing ahead with the diversification of Saudi foreign policy initiated roughly one decade earlier. In concluding, the implications of the Kingdom's stance on the war for future global order‐making are discussed.

ANALYSIS OF MODERN TRENDS AND OPPORTUNITIES IN THE LOGISTICS CHANNELS OF ENERGY PRODUCTS PRODUCERS

The purpose of the article is to highlight the crucial role of logistics in ensuring efficient, sustainable and reliable energy distribution, especially in the face of challenges posed by global events such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing energy crisis. The dynamics of logistics channels in the energy sector are undergoing significant transformation due to technological innovations, geopolitical developments, environmental considerations and changes in energy sources. This study examines the current trends and opportunities in the logistics channels of energy producers, with a particular focus on how these elements are affecting the logistics landscape of the energy market. Methodology. The methodological approach combines a comprehensive review of current literature, analysis of industry reports and case studies to assess the evolution of logistics practices in the energy sector. According to the study, the logistics framework of the energy sector is changing as a result of a strong push for sustainability and technological advancement, which is driving the need for creative logistics solutions. Efforts to promote environmental sustainability are driving green logistics, and digitalisation is increasing operational efficiency across the supply chain. Results. The article emphasises the importance of sustainable and diversified clean energy supply chains, and stresses the need for strategic international cooperation to overcome the complexities of the current global energy landscape. The practical implications of this study suggest that stakeholders in the energy sector, including policy makers, businesses and researchers, need to adapt to these new trends to promote a more sustainable, efficient and responsive logistics infrastructure. The value/originality of this research lies in the comprehensive analysis of the factors driving changes in energy product logistics, offering insights into the strategic directions for the development of sustainable energy supply chains in the face of ever-changing global challenges.

Forced mobilization of student youth in the temporary occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions at the beginning of the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine

This report examines the involvement of the population of the occupied territories of Ukraine of Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the invasion of the territory of Ukraine in 2022 by the armed forces of the Russian Federation. It focuses on the body of evidence for the forced mobilization of the student youth population in these two regions in the lead up to invasion and assesses the implications of this mobilization effort.

TB among refugees from Ukraine in European countries

&lt;sec id="st1"&gt;&lt;title&gt;BACKGROUND&lt;/title&gt;Since the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine, millions of refugees have moved to neighbouring European countries. We assessed the burden of TB in these refugees and surveyed screening approaches.&lt;/sec&gt;&lt;sec id="st2"&gt;&lt;title&gt;METHODS&lt;/title&gt;We conducted a survey among 30 European Union/European Economic Area and 13 other European countries, requesting population data on migrant residents and refugees with country of birth (COB) Ukraine, the number of TB notifications among people with COB Ukraine and countries’ screening policies for refugees from Ukraine.&lt;/sec&gt;&lt;sec id="st3"&gt;&lt;title&gt;RESULTS&lt;/title&gt;In 2021, the number of migrants born in Ukraine was 1.7 million in the 34 responding countries, and increased with 5.2 million refugees from Ukraine to 6.9 million in 2022. These countries notified 207 TB cases in people with COB Ukraine in 2021 (TB notification rate 12.0/100,000) and 887 in 2022 (TB notification rate 12.8/100,000), of which 228 (26%) had multidrug-resistant/rifampicin-resistant TB (MDR/RR-TB). TB notification rates were higher in countries advising screening for all (16.9/100,000) or specific groups of refugees from Ukraine (14.7/100,000) compared to those without screening (7.2/100,000).&lt;/sec&gt;&lt;sec id="st4"&gt;&lt;title&gt;CONCLUSION&lt;/title&gt;TB rates found in people from Ukraine were lower than the expected rate of 44 per 100,000, but higher in host countries recommending screening. Our study underscores the need for adequate TB health services for refugees from Ukraine to ensure tailored diagnosis and treatment, especially for MDR/RR-TB.&lt;/sec&gt;

Seeking a shock haven: Hedging extreme upward oil price changes

Crude oil is prone to large upward price shocks, creating challenges for personal and corporate budgeting and the economy more broadly. In this paper, we systematically assess a range of possible assets which might function as shock havens against large oil price shocks. Empirical tests uncover a rich set of assets which act both as hedges and shock havens, including precious metals, soft commodities and, with less consistency, currencies. The range of possible hedges is extensive, marked by a positive correlation with oil returns on average. Gold, silver, platinum, corn, and wheat are shown to provide consistent shock haven properties across various specifications, including those surrounding the large oil price changes observed during the COVID-19 Pandemic and following the invasion of Ukraine.

Sweden's quest for shelter: ‘Nonalignment' and NATO membership

AbstractThis paper posits that, contrary to conventional wisdom, Sweden's decision to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and end its official policy of ‘nonalignment’ is neither very surprising nor radical in nature. Utilising the shelter theory framework, we examine the Swedish case to shed a new light on the economic, societal and political shelter‐seeking policy choices that led to Stockholm's NATO application in May of 2022. The analysis finds that Sweden's established strategy of seeking shelter from Western powers eventually induced and facilitated close military cooperation with NATO—ultimately leading to accession on 7 March 2024. The decision to join the Alliance should, therefore, be understood as a culmination, building on a historically flexible approach to neutrality and previously established shelter arrangements that were deemed in 2022, after Russia's full‐scale invasion of Ukraine and subsequent developments in Finland, to be no longer sufficient in deterring or responding to new threat dynamics. The case indicates that shelter theory accurately captures the foreign policy strategy of a small neutral and later nonaligned state. However, analysing Sweden's move towards NATO within the given framework also presents an opportunity for theory development; specifically, the theory ought to more meticulously examine three small‐state shelter‐seeking features, namely, how societal and economic shelter relations may precede and, therefore, affect political shelter strategies (or vice versa), the role of ‘critical junctures’ in the theory; and finally, how small states may be affected by each other's shelter‐seeking strategies.

‘Russian warship, go fuck yourself’: Humour and the (geo) political limits of vicarious war

With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, vicarious identification (VI) with the Ukrainian fight swept across the West becoming the de facto and normatively prescribed response and a source of status, self-esteem and jouissance for all those vicariously participating. For their part, and with some success, the Ukrainians encouraged such a response through carefully curated acts of vicarious identity promotion. Mobilising the British context as an example, this article reflects on the temptations and limiting politics of vicarious war, highlighting three points. First, that VI with the Ukrainian fight was tempting, in part because it enabled a nostalgic appropriation that helped flesh out post-Brexit notions of ‘Global Britain’, but that in doing so made this increasingly a war more about ‘us’ than ‘them’. Second, that humour has played a particularly central role in these processes. Third, that VI-derived support is inherently unstable, something evident whenever news from the battlefield has turned grim, threatening to diminish the ontological satisfaction previously derived.

Peculiarities of Professional Training of Civil Defence Specialists in Ukraine Under a Martial Law

The State Emergency Service of Ukraine is a central executive body directed and coordinated by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine through the Minister of Internal Affairs and implementing the state policy in the field of civil defence, protection of the people and territories from emergencies and prevention of their occurrence, elimination of the consequences of emergencies, rescue, firefighting, fire, and industrial safety, activities of emergency services, and hydrometeorological activities. This institution has two higher education schools offering BA training for civil defence bodies and units. At the same time, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to a number of changes in educational training programs for civil defence specialists. Understanding the current threats and recognizing the role of civil defence requires revision of the standards of all specialties, in particular in terms of awareness and preparedness for emergency situations, as well as separation of a set of knowledge, competencies and skills into a separate specialty “civil defence”.

Long‐run impacts of the conflict in Ukraine on grain imports and prices in Africa

AbstractRussia's invasion of Ukraine has threatened global grain supplies as it reduces production and exports while increasing trade costs. While the overall share of Africa's trade with Ukraine and Russia is small, the concentration of imports in products such as wheat, other grains, and fertilizer is critical to food security. This paper investigates the long‐term impacts of the conflict on grain imports and prices in Africa. We use a long‐run general equilibrium trade model to study three scenarios that may evolve as a consequence of the conflict: (1) a heavily reduced Ukrainian production of wheat and other grains; (2) rising trade costs with Ukraine and Russia due to disrupted trade routes in the Black Sea and the sanctions against trading with Russia; and (3) an outright ban on Russian grain export. The model simulations show that the conflict severely affects grain imports, raising local prices for wheat and other grains, with especially strong effects in high import‐dependent countries. That creates risks for food security in some African countries.

The Impact of the Measure Used to Calculate the Distance between Exchange Rate Time Series on the Topological Structure of the Currency Network

Structural properties of the currency market were examined with the use of topological networks. Relationships between currencies were analyzed by constructing minimal spanning trees (MSTs). The dissimilarities between time series of currency returns were measured in various ways: by applying Euclidean distance, Pearson’s linear correlation coefficient, Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient, Kendall’s coefficient, partial correlation, dynamic time warping measure, and Kullback–Leibler relative entropy. For the constructed MSTs, their topological characteristics were analyzed and conclusions were drawn regarding the influence of the dissimilarity measure used. It turned out that the strength of most types of correlations was highly dependent on the choice of the numeraire currency, while partial correlations were invariant in this respect. It can be stated that a network built on the basis of partial correlations provides a more adequate illustration of pairwise relationships in the foreign exchange market. The data for quotations of 37 of the most important world currencies and four precious metals in the period from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2022 were used. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 triggered changes in the topology of the currency network. As a result of these crises, the average distances between tree nodes decreased and the centralization of graphs increased. Our results confirm that currencies are often pegged to other currencies due to countries’ geographic locations and economic ties. The detected structures can be useful in descriptions of the currency market, can help in constructing a stable portfolio of the foreign exchange rates, and can be a valuable tool in searching for economic factors influencing specific groups of countries.

The grammars of globalisation and the languages of regionalism: The war in Ukraine as a milestone and a test

The article reviews transformations observed in the post-soviet space and raises the question of their implications for students of comparative regionalisms. It is first argued that such a discussion deserves to be more systematically related to that of the shifting ‘grammars’ of globalization. Unlike what was the case in the 1990s, globalization refers today to a fragmented, multipolar, yet globalized, world. Interdependency is perceived as a source of insecurity and strategic vulnerability. With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the article also stresses, a pillar of post-colonial and post-imperial international relations, uti possidetis, is also being tested and contested. Interactions with the diversity, or ‘languages,’ of regionalisms are then addressed through the identification of five distinctive threads: colonial and imperial legacies; regionalism as sovereignty or regime enhancement; the EU as a model of holistic and developmental integration; regionalization through defragmentation and connectivity; and regionalization without region-building. The article concludes to the resilience of debates and cognitive representations that were discarded in the aftermath of the cold war.

Reverse-Engineering of Disinformation Campaigns During the War in Ukraine

Information operations have long been a part of warfare. Disinformation campaigns, in particular, are usually launched by states in order to mislead and confuse populations in adversarial countries, but also to obtain support for their actions from domestic audiences. These campaigns threaten human security, at the individual level, but also state- and even international security. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia came with a new wave of disinformation not only in Ukraine itself, but also in countries from various other continents. This paper studies the characteristics of the spread of disinformation from the first day of the war in February 2022 through July 2023. The data we used in this study came from the EUvsDisinfo project, established by the European Union’s East StratCom Task Force in 2015. In particular, we included variables about the topic of these articles containing disinformation, the specific target audience, and origin of the source disseminating the disinformation. The results indicate that the articles concerned predominantly security-focused topics, and to a lesser extent economic and cultural issues. Interestingly, the target audience for the disinformation articles focused predominantly on non-EU/NATO audiences – they overwhelmingly targeted Russian-speaking populations, but also Arab-speaking and Armenian-speaking populations. The majority of the articles were also from Russian sources. The results also provided other additional insights into the characteristics of disinformation during the war which are discussed in the paper as well. Based our findings, we provide policy recommendations for protection against disinformation campaigns for both EU/NATO-members and countries which were affected by these campaigns but are not members of either of these organizations.

Experiencing forced migration: challenges of arriving after displacement from Ukraine

ABSTRACT The paper focuses on the experiences of displaced Ukrainians who arrived in Austria following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. We draw on the concept of ‘arrival’ as proposed by Ludger Pries, to delve into the multifaceted process of arrival that extends beyond mere physical relocation. By conducting group discussions and employing the documentary method, we reveal the challenges associated with ‘arriving’ at the individual, the interactive, and the institutional level. The findings show that the displaced persons’ conjunctive experiences are characterised by a pervasive sense of loss – of their everyday certainties, past lives, future prospects, social recognition, and established social positions. This study not only contributes to the understanding of displaced Ukrainians in Europe, but also enriches the emerging field of the sociology of loss within the context of forced migration, emphasising the importance of focusing on people’s experiences in addition to arrival societies’ responses.

The Role of Ecumenism, Church, and Missiology in Violent Conflict from an African Postcolonial Theological Perspective

Abstract The defining sign of our time in relation to violent conflict is the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war. It impacts not only European countries, but also the Global South. From an African postcolonial theological perspective, the question is how to discern the ‘neutral’ stance of South Africa and various other African countries on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine? Therefore, this article aims to present a postcolonial African analysis of violent conflict and trauma in Africa. This will be done referring to the debate between Tinyiko Maluleke and Emmanuel Katongole on the future of African theology. It concludes that the churches in Africa and theology can play their role in a posture of humility, leading in performing rituals of lament in the face of trauma. The narrative of a future African theology (and African ecclesiology) may not adhere to Eurocentric (neocolonial) dictates, or to reductionist analysis of the context.

Disability studies in war and care: How to do work otherwise? A conversation between anthropology‐and‐disability‐studies scholars in relation to Russia's invasion of Ukraine

AbstractThis piece weaves together the voices of four feminist disability studies scholars and anthropologists whose work has been profoundly shaped by Russia's war of aggression. Composed via a dialogic encounter, it is based on a panel presentation on the topic of disability studies in war and care that took place at the University of Massachusetts Amherst just before the 1‐year mark of the full‐scale invasion. We came together to share insights and consider the best ways to practice horizontal solidarity, our approach inspired by recent work on feminist epistemology and methodology and scholarship on care, and disability studies. The text assumes a dialogic form, presenting our reflections as well as the contexts that shape our knowledge production and sharing the process of scaffolding our “Dis‐Fem” conversation. In dialogue with the decolonizing discussions that animate feminist, anthropological, and Slavic Studies, as well as critical disability scholarship, it centers on the work of Ukrainian scholar‐activists associated with the organization of people with disabilities (OPD) Fight For Right. In foregrounding their work, it traces the creative ways they've mobilized data and the experimental and collaborative data practices they've harnessed. Finally, it asks questions about trans‐local solidarities we can enact and ways we might forge novel, “otherwise” ways to collaborate.

Credibility in Crises: How Patrons Reassure Their Allies

Abstracts How do citizens of US allies assess different reassurance strategies? This article investigates the effects of US reassurance policies on public opinion in allied states. We design and conduct a survey experiment in five Central–Eastern European states—Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania—in March 2022. Set against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, this experiment asked respondents to evaluate four types of reassurance strategies, each a critical tool in US crisis response policy: military deployments, diplomatic summitry, economic sanctions, and public reaffirmations of security guarantees. The international security literature typically values capabilities for their deterrence and reassurance benefits, while largely dismissing public reaffirmations as “cheap talk” and economic sanctions as being ineffective. Yet we find preferences for the use of economic sanctions and public statements as reassurance strategies during crises, in part because these approaches help states manage escalation risks.

Heterogeneity in the pass-through from oil to gasoline prices: A new instrument for estimating the price elasticity of gasoline demand

We propose a new instrument for estimating the price elasticity of gasoline demand that exploits systematic differences across U.S. states in the pass-through of oil price shocks to retail gasoline prices. We show that these differences are primarily driven by the cost of producing and distributing gasoline, which varies with states’ access to oil and gasoline transportation infrastructure, refinery technology, and environmental regulations, creating cross-sectional gasoline price shocks in response to an aggregate oil price shock. Time-varying estimates do not support the view that the gasoline demand elasticity has declined in absolute value to near zero since the 1980s. The elasticity was stable near −0.3 until the end of 2014. It rose to about −0.2 in 2015–16, but has remained stable since 2016. Gasoline demand is more responsive in states with lower personal income, higher unemployment rates and lower urban population shares. There is no evidence for an asymmetry in the elasticity with respect to positive and negative gasoline price shocks. We illustrate how these elasticity estimates inform the recent policy debate about the impact of gasoline tax holidays on consumers’ discretionary income and about the demand destruction from the spike in gasoline prices after the invasion of Ukraine.