Information on the war in Ukraine
We are monitoring the situation closely on behalf of our member institutions in higher and further education.
Jisc condemns the invasion of Ukraine and is working with its national and international partners to support both individuals and organisations impacted directly by the Russian government’s activities, as well as its actions affecting the international research and education community.
As the UK’s national research and education network (NREN), we are in regular and close discussion with GÉANT, the pan-European research and education network, as well as our counterparts from across the world. Communications are being coordinated through an NREN communications group.
Jisc support is focused on three areas: the security and safety of our UK member institutions, global connectivity across research and education networks, and access to education and research for displaced students, staff and researchers.
Security and other ways we are supporting our members
There has been an increase in cyber threats and activity in the global cyber-landscape both to members and wider. We are being extra vigilant and continuing to monitor the situation closely, working with other agencies including the National Cyber Security Centre.
Jisc has produced a statement and guidance for members relating to the increased cyber threat from Russia. This information is updated regularly.
Members who have current collaborations with researchers in Ukraine, Russia or Belarus need to be prepared for limited connectivity between the UK and those countries.
Members should be aware that data held in these counties may be lost in a physical or digital attack, and therefore ensure that research data is shared, backed up, appropriately secured and accessible by all approved partners.
The main impact of sanctions on Russia and Belarus has been to the research community. Research organisations and institutions will release information specific to their communities through their websites and communication channels.
If you have information that you would like to share or need further advice, please contact international@jisc.ac.uk.
Support from UK sector agencies
- The Department for International Trade (DIT) has a support team helping with any questions about trading with Ukraine, Russia or Belarus
Support from international partners
- GÉANT has published a statement on the Russian aggression
- CERN’s council met in March and made a number of decisions about relations with Ukrainian and Russian collaborators and institutions, read its full statement. CERN has also set up a dedicated site for solidarity with Ukraine
- Jisc is a core member of OPERAs, a research infrastructure supporting open scholarly communication in the European Research Area for social sciences and humanities. OPERAs has committed to a number of actions including facilitating the integration of research outputs in Ukrainian into the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC).
Future developments
As the situation in Ukraine develops, any further updates about Jisc’s role will be added to this page.