The International ISSN Centre has adopted amendments to the rules governing the registration of serial publications—an initiative put forward by the Ukrainian academic community. These changes are the result of close cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the State Scientific and Technical Library of Ukraine, the Book Chamber of Ukraine, and the Ukrainian regional chapter of the European Association of Science Editors.

The revision was prompted by documented violations involving journals operating in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, which unlawfully used ISSNs of Ukrainian scientific publications or registered new ISSNs while falsely claiming to be successors of legitimate Ukrainian journals. Such practices posed serious threats to academic integrity and contributed to the spread of misinformation.

As a result of negotiations, the International ISSN Centre has:

• Supported the implementation of country codes in accordance with ISO standards (e.g., “UA” for Ukraine);
  
• Committed to including accurate historical information about the origin of journals from occupied territories.
  

What Changes for Ukrainian Higher Education and Research Institutions

Ukrainian higher education and research institutions whose publications have been subject to unlawful appropriation may now independently initiate requests to the International or National ISSN Centre to annul or revise the relevant ISSN records. Without such formal requests, ISSN offices will not have sufficient grounds to take any action.

In addition, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine will issue official letters to higher education and research institutions, providing guidance on how and where to submit such requests.

The Ministry will continue to coordinate efforts to defend the rights of Ukrainian institutions within the international scholarly publishing community.

Contact for inquiries:
📧 oksana.dvyhun@mon.gov.ua
📞 +380 44 287 82 07
Oksana Dvyhun — State Expert, Expert Group on Open Science and Research Assessment Systems

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