Blackouts, laboratories burned out and missile strikes. During the full-scale war, Ukrainian science has faced challenges that no laboratory protocol in the world could have anticipated. 

This is the story of the century-old O.V. Palladin Institute of Biochemistry.    An institution where, during the Second World War, a unique medicine to stop bleeding was developed, and where today, despite the attacks, researchers continue to test modern haemostatic agents and study tissue regeneration. 

Institute Director Denys Kolybo and his deputy, Volodymyr Chernyshenko, have witnessed the struggle for the survival of Ukrainian science. The professors recount how they saved unique cell collections, which are a true scientific heritage and a national asset, transporting liquid nitrogen through checkpoints in Kyiv, which was partially encircled. And how they cleared the rubble themselves after russia’s devastating strike on July 2, 2026, when the institute lost three of its four buildings. 

The destruction of unique equipment and laboratories burned out is a colossal blow to the institute and to Ukrainian science. But alongside these losses, another irreversible threat has emerged – the risk of breaking the chain of knowledge passed down from one generation to the next. 

To preserve this continuity of scientific knowledge, the researchers continue working even in buildings without roofs. Because for them, stopping the experiments would be like giving up.