Natalia Gerasimenko is one of the researchers who has analyzed the oldest human remains in Europe 

On New Year’s Eve 2022, Russia targeted Taras Shevchenko National University in Kiev, Ukraine’s largest university, with rocket attacks. The blasts shattered windows in several buildings, including the laboratory of geologist Natalia Gerasimenko, causing irreversible loss of ancient pollen samples. Despite the country being in a state of war for over two years, Gerasimenko continues her work, thanks to the Western-backed Patriot system reducing the impact of the attacks. Gerasimenko, who had chosen geology against her parents‘ advice, made significant contributions to the recent discovery of Europe’s oldest human traces – stone tools crafted by Homo erectus 1.4 million years ago. This achievement coincided with a UN report detailing the war’s devastating impact on Ukraine’s scientific system, with economic losses around 1.2 billion euros and thousands of researchers displaced or relocated. After the Russian invasion in February 2022, Gerasimenko fled south, later leaving Ukraine with the help of her university. Despite invitations from various European universities, she returned to her homeland after a few months in Rome at La Sapienza University. Gerasimenko’s work focuses on studying the past to understand the present and predict the future. She believes past cultures heavily depended on nature and uses pollen as a marker to investigate these periods. She is concerned about the numerous archaeological sites in Ukraine that researchers can no longer access due to the war. However, she remains hopeful that she will eventually resume her work and is convinced of Ukraine’s eventual victory in the war.