THE EDUCATIONAL LOSSES IN HIGHER MEDICAL EDUCATION IN UKRAINE UNDER FULL-SCALE RUSSIAN INVASION: EVIDENCE, MEASUREMENT, AND MITIGATION (A NARRATIVE REVIEW)

ABSTRACT. Educational losses in medical education include deficits in knowledge, clinical skills, and professional development that arise when training is interrupted or degraded. Ukraine’s medical schools have faced compounded shocks from COVID-19 and the full-scale Russian invasion. This narrative review synthesizes recent peer-reviewed evidence on wartime medical education in Ukraine and comparable conflict settings and outlines a measurement and mitigation framework. Evidence from Ukrainian schools reports disrupted teaching, reduced bedside training, increased workload and mental stress, and persistent infrastructure constraints. We propose multi-method monitoring across cognitive tests, simulation/OSCEs, and workplace-based assessments, complemented by indicators of well-being and the learning environment. Targeted remediation, distributed simulation, and international partnerships are feasible recovery strategies. KEYWORDS: medical education; learning losses; war; clinical competence; assessment; resilience; Ukraine