Interplay of Crises: Mapping the Scientific Landscape of Intersecting Themes in the Covid-19 Pandemic and the Russian-Ukraine War

Abstract

Background: In February 2022, Russian Federation troops attacked Ukraine on several fronts, thereby starting a war that continues to this day. The invasion garnered worldwide opposition, leading to sanctions imposed on politicians and corporations in the Russian Federation. The war has also left its mark on art, culture, and science. Methods: In this study, we analyse the war in Ukraine and how scholars around the world have examined it. The analysis is divided into three parts: (1) a comprehensive review of the number of articles and conference proceedings related to the Russia-Ukraine war in the Web of Science (WoS) disciplines/categories; (2) the main topics and directions chosen by the authors; and (3) a summary of studies focused on COVID-19 during the war. The latter topic is particularly important, as the COVID-19 situation in Ukraine was already complex before the 2022 invasion, and the ongoing military actions have further exacerbated it. For the above analyses, we utilised a WoS database from 2014 (covering the first Russian attack on Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk regions) through December 2022. Results and Conclusions: For academics, the war in Ukraine has become a significant subject of study. As it proliferated, culminating in a direct mass attack in February 2022, research efforts involved more and more scientific fields. These fields range from political science and sociology research to psychology and marketing to engineering science or supply chains.