KYIV, Ukraine – Yuri Lysenko cuts a striking figure against the frigid Kyiv landscape, clad in a bright red parka designed for Antarctic winters. The 52-year-vintage is among a small but growing number of Ukrainians dubbed the “combat penguins” – individuals who served at Ukraine’s Antarctic research base and have returned home to join the war effort.
Lysenko’s connection to the world’s coldest continent dates back to Ukraine’s early post-Soviet history. Ukraine’s ties to Antarctica stretch back to the early 20th century, with Anton Omelchenko, a native of Poltava Oblast, surviving the ill-fated British Terra Nova Expedition to the South Pole between 1910 and 1913. During the Soviet era, Ukraine’s Antonov aircraft manufacturer built specialized planes to support polar bases, and a Kharkiv factory produced tracked vehicles for Antarctic use.
Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, all 12 Soviet Antarctic bases were inherited by Russia. “In the early 1990s, we had many scientists who were left without work, including Antarctic researchers,” explained Olena Marushevska, press secretary of the National Antarctic Scientific Center of Ukraine.
In 1996, a pivotal moment arrived when the United Kingdom sold its Faraday research station to Ukraine for a symbolic £1. The deal came with a commitment from Ukraine to continue the British research program, including meteorological observations begun in 1947. Ukraine renamed the base “Akademik Vernadsky” in honor of Volodymyr Vernadsky, the first president of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. The base celebrated the 30th anniversary of its official transfer on February 6th.
In late February 2022, Lysenko was en route to the Akademik Vernadsky station, on his fourth Antarctic deployment, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. As an electrician at the base, he couldn’t be immediately replaced, and for nearly a year, he could only follow the news of the advancing Russian forces. “It was very difficult,” Lysenko recalled. “My family was in Kharkiv, but I couldn’t influence the situation.”
Upon completing his Antarctic expedition in the spring of 2023, Lysenko returned to Ukraine and joined a military assault group. In October of that year, he sustained severe injuries from Russian shelling, resulting in the amputation of his right leg. Even as undergoing rehabilitation at a Kyiv hospital in January 2024, Lysenko narrowly escaped death again when a Russian Kalibr cruise missile struck just 15 meters from his bed. The half-ton warhead failed to detonate.
Lysenko says what he misses most from his time in Antarctica is the camaraderie. “The relationships between people go beyond friendship; they become like family,” he said, describing the small team of roughly a dozen individuals enduring 13-month deployments in one of the world’s most isolated locations. “Because you work with these people 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and depend on each other, the friendship between you is so strong that you stay in touch for life.”
Despite using a prosthetic leg, Lysenko returned to the Akademik Vernadsky station for a short-term assignment in February 2025, prompted by staffing shortages. “Unfortunately, in terms of staffing, we are not in the best situation because many of our guys are participating in hostilities,” he stated, adding that his month-long deployment felt “like an Antarctic pirate – with one leg and a penguin on my shoulder.”
A total of 32 scientists and technical specialists who served at the Vernadsky station have joined the war effort. One currently serving on the front lines is Mykhailo, whose call sign is predictably “Biologist.” A marine biologist, Mykhailo was deployed to the station in 2021 and now operates as a drone specialist on the front lines. “In a sense, my current work [on the front lines] is similar to scientific activity,” he told Radio Svoboda. “I work with unmanned aerial vehicles. We are doing something fresh that many people do not understand. We go to remote places and try to work in any weather.” But, he noted the crucial difference: “When you are on a combat mission, you cannot relax. Every sound can be significant. Every action you take can have tragic consequences.”
Mykhailo’s scientific career is currently on hold, but he hopes to return to it soon. “I can’t imagine my life without it,” he said. “And, if my health allows, I seek to go to Antarctica again.”
The Akademik Vernadsky station has faced scrutiny regarding its expenses amid the ongoing war. However, the National Antarctic Scientific Center has defended the funding allocated to the Antarctic outpost, noting that it is partially financed by foreign grants that are strictly prohibited from being used for military purposes. “Ukraine is one of several dozen countries that have year-round stations in Antarctica and a voice in the Antarctic Treaty,” the organization stated in May 2024. The statement also pointed out that “Russia has several stations in Antarctica, finances them, and some of them are being modernized even during the war. They would be very happy if Ukraine stopped researching Antarctica and participating in the Treaty.”
Marushevska emphasized that, beyond its role in polar research, the base serves as a valuable “soft power” asset. “For example, we are currently cooperating a lot with [Latin American countries] that sometimes take a neutral position,” she said. “They don’t know who to support in the war: us or Russia.” She explained that through Ukraine’s collaboration with these countries on Antarctic research missions, “they initiate to feel closer to us. They begin to follow politics and vote for us on various international platforms.” In the current geopolitical situation, she said, the base in Antarctica “has become a really important international tool.”
