Academician Anatoliy ZAGORODNIY, President of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, answers the questions of the Svit newspaper.
– Mr. Zagorodniy, how effectively do Ukrainian scientists help the Armed Forces to withstand and defeat the enemy?
– The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine has never stood aside from the problems associated with strengthening the defense and security of the State. Back in 2015, the Academy launched a targeted scientific and technical program, which gave more than a hundred very important results, including the creation of the first national samples of transparent armor that meet NATO standards, X-band radar station and unmanned aerial vehicle detection system, camouflage composite coatings, we developed new elements of radio and optoelectronics for national weapons. Many developments are aimed at improving the tactical and technical characteristics of weapons, ammunition, missile systems, increasing the level of ballistic protection, the survivability of structural elements. It is almost impossible to list everything.
In particular, we proposed to military medicine various biomaterials for bone regeneration, modern technology for cryopreservation of blood cells, various hemostatic agents and special bandages for the treatment of complex burns and wounds.
All this, without exaggeration, is life-saving things.
In total, during 2015-2021, 39 scientific institutions and organizations of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine within the framework of the targeted scientific and technical programs of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine on strengthening defense and security, carried out more than 130 research works, including 64 – in the interests of Ukroboronprom State Enterprise; 22 – for the Armed Forces of Ukraine; 13 – for the State Space Agency of Ukraine; the rest – for other enterprises and organizations, including the “League of Defense Enterprises of Ukraine” Public Association.
An important step in providing the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the latest weapons and military equipment, which will embody the results of defense research and scientific developments of the NAS of Ukraine, was the Agreement on Scientific and Scientific-Technical Cooperation concluded by the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and Armed Forces of Ukraine, aimed at increase in defense capabilities of the State; it was signed on January 18, 2022, the annexes to it provide specific forms and measures of cooperation for the implementation of the results of defense research.
Much of the development discussed above has already been implemented and help to destroy the aggressor.
Our institutes continue to be active in this field. In particular, today, March 17, the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine considered at its meeting, and approved the list of projects of the “defense” program and increased its funding to the extent possible. For obvious reasons, we will not release more details about this activity.
Our scientists also provide all possible financial assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Members of the Academy have already transferred about 900,000 hryvnias to our Army.
But this is just the beginning, the fundraising continues.
The same was done by employees of the E.O. Paton Institute of Electric Welding, who transferred part of their current March salary (about 900 thousand UAH) for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
This initiative is already supported by other institutes of the Academy. In addition, the E.O. Paton Institute of Electric Welding of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine handed over to the National Military Medical Clinical Center “Main Military Clinical Hospital” and the medical institution of Zhytomyr region devices for welding living tissues PATONMED and medical tools for surgery. The Institute of Electric Welding together with the PATON Welding Equipment Plant also handed over the necessary materials (electrodes weighing 1000 kg) for the repair and recovery battalions of separate units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at combat positions for welding metal structures in the combat zone. Another 300 kg of such materials were donated by the Institute for the needs of the Territorial Defense of Kyiv.
– How did the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine react to the occupiers’ attempts to bomb research centers, in particular, to the double attack on the Institute of Physics and Technology in Kharkiv, nuclear blackmail at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, and the “privatization” of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant? How can scientists act to secure their developments, components, materials, etc.?
– As for our reaction to Russia’s nuclear blackmail by seizing Ukrainian nuclear facilities, it is univocal. It is international terrorism of the highest level. Director of the Institute of Nuclear Power Plants Security of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Academician A.V. Nosovsky explained it in detail in his paper “On nuclear and radiation safety under martial law in Ukraine”, posted on the NASU website on March 4, 2022.
The capture of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant by Russian invaders is a real danger of a new large-scale nuclear catastrophe, he says. It remains only to express our deep gratitude to the staff of the Plant, who, working there even under the control of Russian invaders (in fact, in captivity), continues to prevent global disaster.
The situation in the Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine with its nuclear subcritical assembly “Source of Neutrons”, is no less critical. The Institute was attacked by artillery. Several buildings of the Center were destroyed. The subcritical assembly is not damaged, but in the event of physical destruction of the installation, radioactive contamination of the environment may occur, with critical consequences not only for Kharkiv.
Another issue that cannot be ignored is that of Russian fakes about Ukraine’s nuclear program. Their essence is that Ukraine has allegedly been developing a nuclear program since 1994, and this activity intensified in 2014. On this basis, the Russians try to justify the attack on Ukraine and the capture of ZNPP and ChNPP. Allegedly, the scientists at the Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology (SC KIPT) play a key role in Ukraine’s non-existent nuclear program, assisted by colleagues from research institutes across Ukraine, including the NPP Safety Institute (NPP SI). In this regard, the Director General of the SC KIPT, Academician of the NAS of Ukraine M.F. Shulga, and the Director of the NPP SI of the NAS of Ukraine, Academician of the NAS of Ukraine A.V. Nosovsky officially stated that there were and there are no programs to develop nuclear weapons in scientific institutions of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (including SC KIPT, NPP SI) and in general, in Ukraine, and all nuclear material (highly enriched uranium), which was stored on the sites of scientific institutions, KIPT and the Institute of Nuclear Research (INR) of the NAS of Ukraine, was transferred from Ukraine to Russia in March 2012 under the IAEA supervision. It is extremely important that the activities of scientific institutions of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine working in the nuclear energy sector are under constant control of the Department of Nuclear Guarantees of the IAEA.
There were no comments from the IAEA. Therefore, everything that the Russian media reports about Ukraine’s alleged nuclear program is untrue and is one of the many fakes that Russian propagandists are currently spreading.
– How do the Academy of Sciences and scientific institutes live during hostilities?
– In these, very difficult conditions, the Academy works and keeps the viability. Unfortunately, some institutions in Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipro, and Kyiv have suffered losses and destruction, in some cases the damage is significant. At today’s meeting of the Presidium, we heard the Academician-Secretary of each Department, all the Heads of regional research centers. We needed to know the exact and complete picture of the state of affairs, although, we constantly have a keen sense of the pulse of events. The situation is not easy, but the institutions are managed, their services are functioning. Most institutes have switched to remote work. Employees are paid on time. It inspires hope that we will be able to withstand and not just withstand, but defeat the enemy.
Glory to Ukraine!
March 17, 2022