HYDROGEOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN UKRAINE: INFLUENTIAL CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE INSTITUTE OF GEOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND ALLIED INSTITUTIONS
Groundwater in Ukraine serves drinking, industrial, and agricultural needs, but water resources are declining, and quality is deteriorating due to municipal sewage, industrial waste, agrochemicals, and the ongoing Russian invasion. This paper reviews selected Ukrainian hydrogeological research, main...
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| Дата: | 2026 |
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Institute of Geological Sciences, NAS of Ukraine
2026
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Geological journal| _version_ | 1869562785435746304 |
|---|---|
| author | Файбішенко, Б. Шехунова, С.Б |
| author_facet | Файбішенко, Б. Шехунова, С.Б |
| author_institution_txt_mv | [
{
"author": "Б. Файбішенко",
"institution": "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory"
},
{
"author": "С.Б Шехунова",
"institution": "Institute of Geological Sciences of the NAS of Ukraine"
}
] |
| author_sort | Файбішенко, Б. |
| baseUrl_str | http://geojournal.igs-nas.org.ua/oai |
| collection | OJS |
| datestamp_date | 2026-07-01T09:09:27Z |
| description | Groundwater in Ukraine serves drinking, industrial, and agricultural needs, but water resources are declining, and quality is deteriorating due to municipal sewage, industrial waste, agrochemicals, and the ongoing Russian invasion. This paper reviews selected Ukrainian hydrogeological research, mainly conducted at the Institute of Geological Sciences of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, and organized by research type: regional mapping and zonation; hydrometric and isotopic methods; vadose zone studies; geochemical modeling of water-rock interactions; mineral water characterization; Chornobyl-related contamination monitoring and modeling; uranium facility and petroleum hydrocarbon assessment; karst and speleological research; and drinking and irrigation water resources. Although most Ukrainian contributions, written in Russian or Ukrainian, are underrecognized internationally, they represent substantial advances in experimental and numerical hydrogeological methods and deserve to be known to the international scientific community. The article is concluded with a call to actions. |
| doi_str_mv | 10.30836/igs.1025-6814.2026.2.363462 |
| first_indexed | 2026-07-02T01:00:11Z |
| format | Article |
| fulltext |
93
https://doi.org/10.30836/igs.1025-6814.2026.2.363462
UDC 556.3
Keywords: Hydrogeology, Ukraine,
Hydrogeological Mapping, Modeling,
Karst, Mineral water, Chornobyl, Vadose
Zone Hydrology.
Ключові слова: гідрогеологія,
Україна, гідрогеологічне картування,
моделювання, карст, мінеральні води,
Чорнобиль, гідрологія вадозної зони.
E-mail: bafaybishenko@lbl.gov,
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0085-8499;
shekhun@gmail.com,
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5975-3491
Received / Надійшла до редакції:
20.06.2025
Received in revised form /
Надійшла у ревізованій формі:
15.01.2026
Accepted / Прийнята:
20.03.2026
*Corresponding author /
Автор для кореспонденції:
B. Faybishenko, bafaybishenko@lbl.gov
Groundwater in Ukraine serves drinking, industrial, and agricultural needs, but water resources are
declining, and quality is deteriorating due to municipal sewage, industrial waste, agrochemicals, and
the ongoing Russian invasion. This paper reviews selected Ukrainian hydrogeological research, mainly
conducted at the Institute of Geological Sciences of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine,
and organized by research type: regional mapping and zonation; hydrometric and isotopic methods;
vadose zone studies; geochemical modeling of water-rock interactions; mineral water characteriza-
tion; Chornobyl-related contamination monitoring and modeling; uranium facility and petroleum hy-
drocarbon assessment; karst and speleological research; and drinking and irrigation water resources.
Although most Ukrainian contributions, written in Russian or Ukrainian, are underrecognized interna-
tionally, they represent substantial advances in experimental and numerical hydrogeological methods
and deserve to be known to the international scientific community. The article is concluded with a call
to actions.
Hydrogeological Research in Ukraine:
Influential Contributions from the Institute
of Geological Sciences and Allied Institutions
B. Faybishenko1*, S.B. Shekhunova2
1 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA; 2 Institute of Geological Sciences of the NAS of
Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine
Гідрогеологічні дослідження в Україні: впливовий внесок Інституту
геологічних наук та суміжних установ
Б. Файбішенко1*, С.Б Шехунова2
1 Національна лабораторія Лоуренса Берклі, Берклі, Каліфорнія, США; 2 Інститут геологічних наук
НАН України, Київ, Україна
ДОСЛІДНИЦЬКІ ТА ОГЛЯДОВІ СТАТТІ
RESEARCH AND REVIEW PAPERS
© Видавець Інститут геологічних наук
НАН України, 2026. Стаття опублікована за
умовами відкритого доступу за ліцензією
CC BY-NC-ND (https://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
© Publisher Institute of Geological Sciences
of the National Academy of Sciences of
Ukraine, 2026. This is an Open Access article
under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-
nd/4.0/)
C i t a t i o n : Faybishenko B., Shekhunova S.B. 2026. Hydrogeological Research in Ukraine: Influential Contributions from
the Institute of Geological Sciences and Allied Institutions. Geologičnij žurnal, 2 (395), 93–103. https://doi.org/10.30836/
igs.1025-6814.2026.2.363462
Ц и т у в а н н я : Файбішенко Б., Шехунова С.Б. Гідрогеологічні дослідження в Україні: впливовий внесок Інститу-
ту геологічних наук та суміжних установ. Геологічний журнал. 2026. № 2 (395). С. 93–103. https://doi.org/10.30836/
igs.1025-6814.2026.2.363462
mailto:shekhun@gmail.com
94 ISSN 1025-6814 | Геологічний журнал. 2026. № 2 | Geologìčnij žurnal. 2026. No. 2
B. Faybishenko, S.B. Shekhunova
1. Introduction
Ukraine occupies a territory of approximately
603,000 km² in Eastern Europe and spans some of
the most geologically complex and groundwater pro-
ductive terrain on the continent. The country hosts
portions of several major artesian basins, the ancient
crystalline massif of the Ukrainian Shield, the folded
and thrusted Carpathians range, and the sedimenta-
ry platforms of the Dnipro-Donets trough. Ground-
water constitutes a critical national resource: in ru-
ral areas, more than 70% of the population relies on
subsurface water sources for domestic supply, while
industrial and agricultural sectors have historically
drawn heavily on aquifer systems across the country.
The scientific study of Ukrainian groundwater
dates to the late nineteenth century, when Imperial
Russian geological surveys first documented arte-
sian conditions in the Kyiv region. However, system-
atic hydrogeology as a discipline emerged under the
institutional frameworks established following the
formation of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Repub-
lic and, more decisively, after independence in 1991.
Over the course of the twentieth century, Ukrainian
scientists produced foundational theoretical contri-
butions, developed the country’s first comprehen-
sive hydrogeological maps, established nationally
significant mineral water resources, and confronted
the unprecedented hydrogeological consequences
of the 1986 Chornobyl nuclear disaster.
The importance of preparing a comprehensive re-
view of hydrogeological investigations in Ukraine at
this moment cannot be overstated, and rests on at
least five distinct grounds. First, Ukraine’s groundwa-
ter resources are under acute, compounding pressure
from climate and war. The ongoing armed conflict that
began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in February
2022 has damaged water infrastructure enormously,
disrupted groundwater monitoring networks, flood-
ed mines in the Donbas, threatening productive aqui-
fer horizons. The destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in
June 2023 fundamentally altered the hydrogeological
regime of the lower Dnipro floodplain over hundreds
of thousands of hectares. Rational post-war recon-
struction of water supply, irrigation, and drainage in-
frastructure cannot proceed without a clear account
of what was known about Ukrainian groundwater
before the conflict began. Second, the institutional
disruption caused by war has posed a genuine risk to
scientific memory. Ukrainian hydrogeological knowl-
edge is disproportionately held in grey literature,
institutional archives, and the minds of individual
scientists, many of whom have been displaced or had
their institutions damaged or destroyed. A systemat-
ic review may consolidate this knowledge in a form
that survives institutional discontinuity and is acces-
sible to reconstructors and planners who may not
have Ukrainian or Russian language capacity. Third,
climate change is altering the Ukrainian groundwater
systems, requiring the historical scientific record as a
baseline for detecting and attributing change. Shifts
in seasonal precipitation, reduced Carpathian snow-
pack, increasing evapotranspiration demand across
the steppe, and the desiccation of shallow aquifer
systems in semi-arid southern regions are already
being observed; understanding their significance
requires the long observational record that a centu-
ry of Ukrainian hydrogeological work has produced.
Fourth, Ukraine’s aspirations to European Union
membership require alignment with EU water gov-
ernance frameworks, most notably the Water Frame-
work Directive and the Groundwater Directive. This
alignment process will be technically informed only if
European and Ukrainian authorities share a common
understanding of the state of Ukrainian groundwater
science and management practice – an understand-
ing that a review is designed to facilitate. Fifth, and
most fundamentally, the Ukrainian hydrogeological
community has produced work of genuine interna-
tional scientific significance that has not received the
international recognition it deserves, largely because
it was published in languages and institutional chan-
nels inaccessible to most of the world’s scientific lite
rature.
This paper synthesizes selected principal hydro-
geological investigations conducted by scientists
from the Institute of Geological Sciences of the Na-
tional Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and the Kyiv
National University in Kyiv, Ukraine.
The paper is organized into 13 research types:
• Water Resources Overview.
• Regional Mapping and Zonation.
• Hydrometric and Isotopic Field Methods.
• Vadose Zone Studies.
• Pore Solutions of Low-Permeability Rocks.
• Geochemical Modeling of Water-Rock Interactions.
• Numerical Hydrogeological Modeling.
• Mineral Water Research.
• Chornobyl Contamination Monitoring and Mo
deling.
• Uranium Facility and Petroleum Hydrocarbon As-
sessment.
• Karst & Speleological Research.
• Post-Mining Hydrogeology.
• Drinking and Irrigation Water Resources.
95Дослідницькі та оглядові статті | Research and Review Papers
Hydrogeological Research in Ukraine: Influential Contributions from the Institute of Geological Sciences and Allied Institutions
2. Regional Hydrogeological
Mapping and Zonation
The 1910s saw the establishment of the first
systematic artesian well-drilling programs in
Ukraine. The pioneering work of Pavlo Tutkovs-
kiy (1858–1930), who had mapped karst features
and groundwater circulation in Volyn, provided
a conceptual foundation that subsequent Sovi-
et-era hydrogeologists built upon (Tutkovskiy,
1895; 1911a, b; 1922). Tutkovskiy’s recognition of
the relationship between geomorphology, karst
development, and spring discharge advanced the
Ukrainian's karst hydrology. Tutkovsky was the
one of the founding members of the Ukrainian
Academy of Science and the first Director of the
Institute of Geological Sciences of the National
Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
Systematic hydrogeological zonation of
Ukraine began in the early twentieth century.
V.I. Luchytskiy and B.L. Lichkov introduced the
first zoning principles in 1918, and produced a
1:2,500,000 map in 1930 (Luchitskiy and Lichkov
1930). V.I. Luchytskiy revised the scheme in 1947;
A.Ye. Babynets refined it in 1961 and again in 1979.
In the early 1970s, F.A. Rudenko and I.P. Solyakov
updated the scheme adopted by the Geological
Survey of Ukraine.
V.M. Shestopalov (1989) further improved zo-
nation by incorporating geologic-structural con-
ditions and hydraulic connectivity of aquifers. In
2010, V.M. Shestopalov, P.V. Blinov, and G.G. Liutyi
developed two complementary schemes – one de-
fining first-order regions, the other aligning with
State Water Resources Agency management areas
to capture human influences on groundwater –
surface water interactions.
V.I. Lyalko and G.A. Shneiderman (1965) evalu-
ated regional groundwater resources in the Dni-
pro-Molochna watershed using hydrodynamic
methods and, for the first time in Ukraine, results
of lysimetric observations and neutron gamma-ray
logging. V.I. Lyalko subsequently studied thermal
waters in Crimea and Transcarpathia, and assessed
the potential for burying industrial wastewater in
the Dnipro-Donets basin (Lyalko, 1974).
N.I. Drobnokhod, in his assessment of ground-
water reserves in Ukraine, was one of the first to
simulate groundwater flow in fractured forma-
tions using a concept of effective hydrogeological
parameters (Drobnokhod, 1976). These ideas were
also presented in the monographs by Shestopalov
et al. (1988; 1989).
The hydrogeological map of Ukraine shown in
Figure 1 that also demonstrates the lithological
characteristics of geological formations.
3. Hydrometric and Isotopic
Field Methods
Hydrometric techniques – genetic separation of
hydrographs, low-flow surveys, and long-term
river flow records – were adopted in Ukraine in
the early 1960s to quantify groundwater resourc-
es. Work by A.Ye. Babynets and G.O. Belyavsky
(1973) and V.M. Shestopalov (1983) demonstrated
that these methods systematically underesti-
mate resources in areas with complex topogra
phic dissection. In Volynian (or Volyn) Polissia,
actual resources were nine (9) times higher than
hydrometric estimates; in the Sumy region of the
Dnipro basin, six (6) times higher. The primary
driver of water exchange was found to be vertical
flow through low-permeability layers rather than
lateral movement along aquifers – a finding that
fundamentally reframed regional groundwater
dynamics.
Isotopic methods provided independent evi-
denceof groundwater recharge. V.V. Gudzenko ap-
plied the radium-radon method (Gudzenko et al.,
1979; Gudzenko, Dubinchuk, 1987; Gudzenko, 1993)
to date groundwater and to study water exchange
in the upper hydrodynamic zone of the Ukrainian
Shield and adjacent artesian basins. The ²³⁴U/²³⁸U
ratio was used to investigate mineral waters of
the Ukrainian Shield, Crimean karst systems, and
mining waters of the Donets Basin and Kryvyi Rih.
V.V. Gudzenko and V.T. Dubinchuk (1987) summa-
rized this work in the monograph 'Isotopes of Radi-
um and Radon in Natural Waters'.
4. Vadose (Unsaturated) Zone Studies
A group led by A.B. Sitnikov in the Institute of Geo-
logical Sciences investigated moisture and solute
transport in the unsaturated zone through physical
and mathematical modeling of nonlinear flow pro-
cesses. Experimental work used large lysimeters at
the Feofania hydrogeological station on the out-
skirts of Kyiv, in Crimea, and Polissia (Sitnikov, 1978,
1986, 2010; Sitnikov et al., 2003). The methods and
results of vadose zone investigations in various
parts of Ukraine and the former Soviet Union, con-
ducted at Kyiv National University by a group led
by I.E. Zhernov, are presented in the monographs
by Dzekunov et al. (1987) and Faybishenko (1986).
96 ISSN 1025-6814 | Геологічний журнал. 2026. № 2 | Geologìčnij žurnal. 2026. No. 2
B. Faybishenko, S.B. Shekhunova
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97Дослідницькі та оглядові статті | Research and Review Papers
Hydrogeological Research in Ukraine: Influential Contributions from the Institute of Geological Sciences and Allied Institutions
The methods and results of studies on the effect
of entrapped air on the quasi-saturated hydraulic
conductivity of soils are presented in Dzekunov et
al. (1987) and Faybishenko (1995).
These studies underpinned later modeling of ir-
rigation infiltration losses and contaminant path-
ways toward aquifers.
5. Pore Solutions of Low-
Permeability Rocks
Beginning in the mid-1950s, Ukrainian scientists
expanded the study of pore solutions from surface
marine sediments to deeply buried rocks in dia-
genesis and catagenesis. At the Institute of Geo-
logical Sciences S.O. Kleshchenko conducted labo-
ratory studies to extract pore fluids from geological
formations of the Dnipro-Donets Depression in the
reduced water-exchange zone.
Using a device designed by N.A. Partsevskyi (UOR-
500) for low-pressure extraction, A.O. Sukhorebryi
(Sukhorebryi, 1995) confirmed hydraulic connectivi-
ty between the upper tier of hydrogeological struc-
tures and pore solutions in low-permeability layers,
showing that solutions evolve geochemically from
chloride-dominated brines toward fresh hydro-
carbonate water. Flow is concentrated in the most
permeable zones associated with dual porosity and
fracturing, particularly in active geodynamic zones
(Babynets, Sukhorebryi, 1981; Sukhorebryi, 1993,
2018). S.M. Stadnichenko (2012) extended this work to
Lower Permian salt-bearing strata of the Dnipro-Do-
nets Depression, documenting brine formation even
within micro-fractured, low-permeability layers.
6. Geochemical Modeling of
Water-Rock Interactions
The monograph 'Radiolysis of Groundwater and Its
Geochemical Role' by I.F. Vovk (1979) is a fundamen-
tal work that laid the foundations for a new field
in hydrogeology and geochemistry. The book ex-
amines the effects of radioactive radiation on the
water-rock system, which induces physicochemical
changes within the Earth’s interior. This work ex-
amines the processes of gas and energy generation
in the Earth’s crust and provides substantiation for
radiolysis as the primary mechanism for generating
hydrogen and oxygen in the Earth.
Mathematical modeling of water-rock interac-
tion was developed using the GEMS (Gibbs Ener-
gy Minimization Software) and PHREEQC codes.
I.L. Kolyabina constructed and validated a model
of the rock – percolating water system, represent-
ing the initial infiltration stage of groundwater for-
mation, and closely matched experimental data on
water extracts from rocks.
GEMS modeling assessed olivine interaction with
deep-seated hydrogen (Shestopalov et al., 2022)
and conditions for native aluminum deposition in
sedimentary rocks of hydrocarbon fields (Lukin et
al., 2023). PHREEQC was applied to determine phys-
icochemical mechanisms of groundwater com-
position formation in two Kyiv water intake aqui-
fers, five aquifers in the zone of influence of the
Safonovskoye uranium deposit, and seven aquifer
horizons near Nikopol (Koliabina et al., 2021; Yaro-
shenko et al., 2023). The approach also identified
mechanisms driving elevated arsenic concentra-
tions in the Nemyriv groundwater field (Koliabina
et al., 2023).
7. Numerical Hydrogeological Modeling
Mathematical modeling of hydrogeological pro-
cesses in Ukraine began in the 1960s at the Labora-
tory of Land Reclamation Hydrogeology under the
supervision of Prof. I.Ye. Zhernov, initially using the
Luk’yanov hydraulic integrator. Ukrainian scientists
then developed the BUSE-70 (Block Universal Grid
Integrator), which was used for direct and inverse
problems across the former Soviet Union (Zhernov
and Shestakov, 1971). For example, BUSE-70 was ap-
plied to model the North Crimea canal, the Kakhov-
ka Reservoir, irrigation and drainage systems, and
infiltration basins in southern Ukraine. A.Ye. Babi-
nets and M.S. Ognianik (1981) and M.S. Ognianik
(1983) developed a model of Crimea and the lower
Dnipro, and provided recommendations on opti-
mal groundwater use and drainage design.
V.M. Shestopalov and colleagues (1988, 1989)
published a two-volume monograph synthesizing
the results of investigations of water resources
across Ukraine’s hydrogeological structures. Mod-
eling results showed that water exchange extends
to depths of 1,600–2,000 m, that natural resources
are substantially larger than earlier estimates, and
that dynamic conditions increase groundwater vul-
nerability to local pollution sources. More recent-
ly, Yu.F. Rudenko et al. (2021) conducted numerical
modeling of the Oligocene–Pliocene–Quaternary
aquifer complex in the Kyiv region. They simulated
changes in recharge and extraction over time and
found that Kyiv marl erosion on the Dnipro’s left
bank increases water losses from urban areas and
degrades groundwater quality.
98 ISSN 1025-6814 | Геологічний журнал. 2026. № 2 | Geologìčnij žurnal. 2026. No. 2
B. Faybishenko, S.B. Shekhunova
8. Mineral Water Research
Systematic classification of Ukraine’s mineral wa-
ters began with publication by K.I. Makov (1945;
1947a; 1947b), who proposed the first national zo-
nation scheme. Work by Ye.S. Burkser, A.Ye. Babi-
nets, and A.N. Nichkevich on the radioactivity and
geochemistry of mineral water was continued and
expanded over subsequent decades.
A.P. Ishchenko with colleagues (Ishchenko, 1985;
Shestopalov et al., 2013) characterized the unique
'Naftusya' mineral waters of the Carpathian and
Podolsk regions, notable for divalent iron concen-
trations reaching balneological levels. Long-term
study by N.P. Moiseeva and colleagues identified
organic carbon content as a key indicator of balne-
ological quality and showed that the principal
medicinal properties are linked to polar unstable
substances that rapidly lose activity after reaching
the surface. V.M. Shestopalov (2003) published a
revised national classification, distinguishing poly-
metal waters for the first time and enabling mono-,
bi-, and polycomponent designations linked to
therapeutic benefit. The territory was subsequent-
ly subdivided into mineral water zones based on
diversity and formation characteristics to a depth
of 500–700 m, and a monograph of Ukraine’s miner-
al waters was published (Shestopalov et al., 2009).
GEMS-SELECTOR modeling of mineral water com-
position (Ovchinnikova, 2018) revealed a far greater
variety of chemical components.
9. Chornobyl Accident: Contamination
Monitoring and Modeling
Following the 1986 accident, V.M. Shestopalov led a
hydrogeological group from the Institute of Geolog-
ical Sciences and Kyiv National University to assess
radioactive contamination of groundwater across
Ukraine. From 1986 to 1987, the group (including
B. Faybishenko and V. Chernoval from Kyiv Nation-
al University) developed Ukraine’s first regional
hydrogeological and radionuclide transport mod-
el. The Chornobyl Exclusion Zone regional model
was subsequently built using MODFLOW software
(Skalskiy and Kubko, 2001), enabling the estimation
of groundwater flow directions and rates, as well as
the risk assessment of groundwater contamination
(Bugai et al., 1996, 2007).
Over 70 pumping wells were drilled to supply
drinking water to Kyiv. Since 1995, the Department
of Geological Environment Monitoring at the Insti-
tute of Geological Sciences of the NAS of Ukraine
has studied the results of monitoring in a network
of over 100 monitoring wells in the 10-km zone
around the Chornobyl NPP. As part of the interna-
tional collaboration, Bugai et al. (2012) developed
two- and three-dimensional models of radionu-
clide transport through the vadose zone and the
aquifer. Using MODFLOW, MT3D, and Ecolego nu-
merical codes, separate models were developed to
guide the decommissioning strategy for the Chor-
nobyl NPP Cooling Pond (Bugai et al., 2005, 2019).
The research findings on the assessment of radio-
active groundwater vulnerability were synthesized
in the American Geophysical Union (AGU) mono-
graph 'Groundwater Vulnerability: Chornobyl Nu-
clear Disaster' (Shestopalov et al., 2014).
10. Uranium Facility and Petroleum
Hydrocarbon Assessment
Since 2005, the Department of Geological Envi-
ronment Monitoring has investigated the former
Prydniprovskyi Chemical Plant (Kamianske), one
of the largest uranium ore processing centers in
the former USSR, which was not properly decom-
missioned after the collapse of the Soviet Union
in 1991. MODFLOW-based geostatistical and digital
models were developed, and Ecolego was used to
forecast radiological conditions of uranium tailings
(Skalskiy et al., 2011; Bugai et al., 2015). This work
was carried out in close cooperation with the Inter-
national Atomic Energy Agency.
Petroleum hydrocarbon contamination – princi-
pally aviation kerosene at military installations –
has been modeled using the GWFS software pack-
age. Research led by N.S. Ognianik at the Kulbakine
airfield near Mykolaiv produced the assessment of
the ecological-geological state of military facilities,
later coordinated with Ukraine’s Ministry of Natu-
ral Resources and the Armed Forces Environmen-
tal Security Service. A NATO Science for Peace and
Security project (2013–2017) extended this work to
a Kyiv military base, assessing phytochemical con-
tamination and designing remediation measures
(Ognianik et al., 2018). The Russian invasion has led
to a new wave of petroleum contamination – doz-
ens of civilian oil/fuel depots and refineries have
been destroyed – whose full scale has not yet been
assessed.
11. Karst and Speleological Research
Systematic karst hydrogeology research began in
1980 under leadership O.B. Klimchouk at the Institute
99Дослідницькі та оглядові статті | Research and Review Papers
Hydrogeological Research in Ukraine: Influential Contributions from the Institute of Geological Sciences and Allied Institutions
of Natural Sciences. In the 1990s–2000s, fieldwork ex-
tended to caves in Western Ukraine, Crimea, Armenia,
Turkmenistan, Turkey, and other regions. A paleoge-
netic approach – recognizing the leading role of past
water-exchange processes in creating high-perme-
ability structures – was developed within the Com-
mission on Karst Hydrogeology and Speleogenesis of
the International Speleological Union, culminating in
the monograph Speleogenesis and Evolution of Karst
Reservoirs (Klimchouk et al., 2000).
Based on a study of giant labyrinthine gypsum
caves in Western Ukraine, O.B. Klimchouk (1990,
1992) developed a model of artesian speleogene-
sis in which karst systems form through transverse
upward flow between confined aquifers within lay-
ered complexes. This model clarified the geology of
Miocene aquifer sulfate rocks in Western Ukraine
(Klimchouk, Andreychouk, 2005) and the genesis
of Carpathian sulfur deposits (Klimchouk, 1997;
Klimchouk, Andreychouk, 2017). The concept of hy-
pogene karst – formed by ascending, chemically
aggressive, deep-sourced fluids – was developed
through extensive international collaboration (Birk
et al., 2003; Andre, Rajaram, 2005; Chaudhuri et al.,
2013). This concept was a paradigm shift in karst
science (Klimchouk, 2015), and was summarized in
the Springer monograph 'Hypogene Karst Regions
and Caves of the World' (Klimchouk et al., 2017).
12. Hydrogeological Problems
of Post-Mining Areas
Ukraine’s mining industry, concentrated in the
Donbas coalfields and western potassium-salt
and rock-salt deposits, has created severe hydro-
geological legacies that have been intensified by
war. In Donbas, the conflict has produced uncon-
trolled flooding of over 200 hydraulically connect-
ed mines, causing land subsidence, spontaneous
gas emissions, and contaminated groundwater re-
charge. Research by Yevhen Yakovlev documents
an accelerating regional rise in water levels toward
pre-industrialization baselines, with the Persh-
chravnaya (Luhansk) and Toretsk (Donetsk) mine
groups already severely affected (Yakovlev, 2017).
A geological and hydrogeological monitoring sys-
tem for the region is urgently needed.
In western Ukraine, uncontrolled karst develop-
ment above the Kalush, Stebnyk, and Solotvyn salt
deposits, developed since the mid-1990s, threat-
ened the Tysa River and led to the emergency clo-
sure of mining in 2010. The REVITAL 1 Grant Project
responded the development of a complex geolog-
ical environment. The results of monitoring were
used to create a MODFLOW hydrodynamic model to
assess transboundary saline pollution of the Tysa
and optimize sustainable resource use (Shekhun-
ova et al., 2023).
13. Drinking and Irrigation
Water Resources
Nearly 75% of Ukraine’s 15.7 million rural resi-
dents – about 11.6 million people – lack access to
centralized water supplies and rely on groundwa-
ter. Although about 80% of the national drinking
water supply comes from surface sources, surface
water quality is classified as 'polluted' and treat-
ment costs are high. Groundwater has therefore
become increasingly important, though pumping
volumes have declined over time.
V.M. Shestopalov et al. (2020) assessed Mariu-
pol’s groundwater resources and found operational
potential of 40,000 m³/day at an average mineral-
ization of ~3 g/dm³, requiring extensive treatment.
Kyiv’s water supply historically drew from the Dnip
ro (350,000 m³/day) and Desna (800,000 m³/day)
Rivers, and groundwater (285,000 m³/day); the latter
source is increasingly important as surface water
quality worsens. Yu.F. Rudenko et al. (2021) modeled
Kyiv’s aquifer complex to simulate recharge and ex-
traction dynamics, identifying the Dnipro River and
Kyiv Reservoir as primary recharge sources under
intensive pumping.
Irrigation use has collapsed, falling from
7,759 million m³ in 1990 to 120 million m³ in 2023,
reflecting both economic contraction and the di-
version of water infrastructure by war. Both surface
water and groundwater require treatment before
irrigation use.
14. Conclusions and Call to Actions
Ukrainian hydrogeologists have made substan-
tial contributions across the full spectrum of hy-
drogeological research – from regional mapping
and isotopic field methods to numerical model-
ing, contamination assessment, karst theory, and
mineral water classification. These contributions
remain underrecognized internationally because
most publications appear in Russian or Ukrainian.
The Russian invasion has dramatically wors-
ened Ukraine’s water situation: it has polluted ri
vers, flooded mines, destroyed oil infrastructure,
and impeded the monitoring and remediation
programs that decades of research have built.
100 ISSN 1025-6814 | Геологічний журнал. 2026. № 2 | Geologìčnij žurnal. 2026. No. 2
B. Faybishenko, S.B. Shekhunova
Ukrainian hydrogeologists remain committed to
supporting hydrogeological science and to plan-
ning the hydrogeological recovery that post-war
rebuilding will require.
Ukraine’s hydrogeological heritage is substan-
tial, and its relevance to the nation’s survival, re-
covery, and long-term prosperity is direct and ur-
gent. Based on the current state of hydrogeology in
Ukraine, several priority actions can be identified
as necessary and, in several cases, as immediate.
Emergency stabilization of the national ground-
water monitoring network. The network of obser-
vation boreholes, water quality sampling stations,
and river gauging sites that constitutes Ukraine’s
hydrogeological surveillance infrastructure has
been severely disrupted by the Russian invasion of
Ukraine. Sites in occupied, contested, or recently
de-occupied territories have, in many cases, been
damaged, rendered inaccessible, or deliberately
destroyed. The priority for the international sci-
entific community and for Ukrainian institutions
must be the emergency documentation of pre-war
network status, the rapid rehabilitation of acces-
sible stations, and the deployment of alternative
remote and autonomous monitoring technologies
where direct access remains impossible. Data gaps
of even a few years in long-running observation re-
cords will compromise the ability of future scien-
tists and managers to detect trends and attribute
change for decades to come.
Systematic hydrogeological assessment of
war-related contamination risks is required. Mili-
tary activity introduces a wide range of potential
groundwater contaminants, including fuel hydro-
carbons, heavy metals from munitions, industrial
chemicals released from damaged facilities, and bi-
ological hazards from compromised sanitation in-
frastructure. The scale of military operations across
Ukraine means that contamination risk to shallow
aquifers supplying rural domestic water in affected
regions is substantial and largely unquantified. A
coordinated national program of targeted ground-
water sampling and risk assessment in affected
regions of Ukraine is urgently required, drawing
on the hydrogeochemical expertise developed in
Ukraine over the past half-century and supported
by international analytical resources, because the
domestic laboratory capacity has been disrupted.
Comprehensive hydrogeological appraisal of
the Kakhovka Dam aftermath. The destruction of
the Kakhovka Dam in June 2023 marked one of the
most significant environmental disruption events
in modern Ukrainian history. Its consequences for
river morphology, floodplain aquifer dynamics, ir-
rigation water availability, wetland hydrology, and
drinking water security are expected to unfold over
years and decades. A dedicated, multidisciplinary
scientific program combining field observation, nu-
merical modeling, and remote sensing is needed
to characterize the worsening of hydrogeological
state of the affected landscape and inform deci-
sions on infrastructure reconstruction, agricultur-
al land management, and nature recovery in the
lower Dnipro basin.
The protection and digitization of the Ukrainian
hydrogeological archive. A century of field obser-
vations, borehole logs, chemical analyses, map
sheets, and laboratory records constitutes an ir-
replaceable national scientific patrimony. Much
of this material exists only as physical records in
institutional archives, some of which are in areas
exposed to military risk. International support for
the emergency digitization, secure off-site storage,
and open-access publication of Ukrainian hydro-
geological data is a matter of scientific urgency
and should be pursued in close partnership with
Ukrainian institutions, with full respect for national
data sovereignty.
Investment in the next generation of Ukrainian
hydrogeologists. The war has disrupted universi-
ty education, displaced students and early-career
scientists, and severed many international collab-
orations through which Ukrainian researchers en-
gaged with global science. Sustained investment
in scholarships, visiting researcher programs, joint
graduate supervision, and access to international
scientific literature is needed to ensure that the
next generation of Ukrainian hydrogeologists can
build on, rather than rediscover, the legacy re-
viewed in this paper. The International Association
of Hydrogeologists, the national geological surveys
of partner countries, and European research fund-
ing bodies are well-positioned to lead this effort.
Integration of hydrogeological science into post-
war reconstruction planning. Experience from other
post-conflict reconstruction contexts demonstrates
that water infrastructure rebuilt without adequate
hydrogeological input frequently fails, and requires
taking into account for aquifer vulnerability, sus-
tainable yield limits, or the changed conditions
resulting from conflict. Ukraine’s post-war recon-
struction presents a rare and critically important
opportunity to build a water supply and manage-
ment system that is not only restored but improved.
101Дослідницькі та оглядові статті | Research and Review Papers
Hydrogeological Research in Ukraine: Influential Contributions from the Institute of Geological Sciences and Allied Institutions
It has to be grounded in the best available hydrogeo-
logical science, aligned with EU regulatory frame-
works, resilient to climate change, and capable of
serving the Ukrainian people for the century ahead.
Realizing that opportunity requires hydrogeological
expertise from the earliest stages of reconstruc-
tion planning, not added as an afterthought once
infrastructure decisions have already been made.
The scientists and institutions reviewed in this pa-
per built, over the course of a century and under
conditions of extraordinary political and material
difficulty, a body of hydrogeological knowledge that
is both a national asset of Ukraine and a contribu-
tion to the shared scientific heritage of humanity.
Preserving, extending, and applying that knowledge
is not merely an academic obligation. In a country
where millions of people depend on groundwa-
ter for survival, where aquifer systems are under
simultaneous pressure from war, climate, and insti-
tutional disruption, and where the decisions made
in the coming decade will shape water security for
generations, it is a matter of the most direct and
practical urgency.
Acknowledgements. This paper is devoted to the
memory of Ukrainian hydrogeologists – A.Ye. Babi-
nets, A.B. Klimchouk, V.I. Lyalko, M.S. Ognyanik,
F.A. Rudenko, V.M. Shestopalov, A.B. Sitnikov, I.F. Vovk,
I.Ye. Zhernov, and many others. Clause.ai was used to
structure the paper and gather some references.
The senior author used to work at the Laboratory of
Land Reclamation Hydrogeology and Laboratory of
Hydrogeological and Engineering-Geological Fore-
casting of Kyiv National University, and has closely
collaborated with the scientists of the Institute of
Geological Sciences of NASU.
Підземні води в Україні використовуються для питних, промислових і сільськогосподарських потреб, однак їхні запаси
скорочуються, а якість погіршується через скид комунальних стічних вод, промислові відходи, агрохімікати та триваючу
російську агресію. У цій статті розглядаються українські гідрогеологічні дослідження, згруповані за типами: регіональ-
не картографування та зонування; гідрометричні й ізотопні методи; дослідження зони аерації; геохімічне моделювання
взаємодії вода–гірські породи; характеристика мінеральних вод; моніторинг і моделювання забруднення, пов’язаного з
аварією на четвертому блоці Чорнобильської АЕС; оцінка уранових об’єктів і нафтових вуглеводнів; карстові та спелео
логічні дослідження; ресурси питної та зрошувальної води. Хоча більшість українських праць, написаних російською
або українською мовами, недостатньо визнані на міжнародному рівні, вони представляють суттєві досягнення в експе-
риментальних і чисельних гідрогеологічних методах. Стаття завершується обгрунтуванням подальших дій.
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| id | mcm-mathkpnueduua-article-363462 |
| institution | Geological journal |
| keywords_txt_mv | keywords |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-07-02T01:00:11Z |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publisher | Institute of Geological Sciences, NAS of Ukraine |
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| spelling | mcm-mathkpnueduua-article-3634622026-07-01T09:09:27Z HYDROGEOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN UKRAINE: INFLUENTIAL CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE INSTITUTE OF GEOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND ALLIED INSTITUTIONS ГІДРОГЕОЛОГІЧНІ ДОСЛІДЖЕННЯ В УКРАЇНІ: ВПЛИВОВИЙ ВНЕСОК ІНСТИТУТУ ГЕОЛОГІЧНИХ НАУК ТА СУМІЖНИХ УСТАНОВ Файбішенко, Б. Шехунова, С.Б Hydrogeology Ukraine Hydrogeological Mapping Modeling Karst Mineral water Chornobyl Vadose Zone Hydrology гідрогеологія Україна гідрогеологічне картування моделювання карст мінеральні води Чорнобиль гідрологія вадозної зони Groundwater in Ukraine serves drinking, industrial, and agricultural needs, but water resources are declining, and quality is deteriorating due to municipal sewage, industrial waste, agrochemicals, and the ongoing Russian invasion. This paper reviews selected Ukrainian hydrogeological research, mainly conducted at the Institute of Geological Sciences of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, and organized by research type: regional mapping and zonation; hydrometric and isotopic methods; vadose zone studies; geochemical modeling of water-rock interactions; mineral water characterization; Chornobyl-related contamination monitoring and modeling; uranium facility and petroleum hydrocarbon assessment; karst and speleological research; and drinking and irrigation water resources. Although most Ukrainian contributions, written in Russian or Ukrainian, are underrecognized internationally, they represent substantial advances in experimental and numerical hydrogeological methods and deserve to be known to the international scientific community. The article is concluded with a call to actions. Підземні води в Україні використовуються для питних, промислових і сільськогосподарських потреб, однак їхні запаси скорочуються, а якість погіршується через скид комунальних стічних вод, промислові відходи, агрохімікати та триваючу російську агресію. У цій статті розглядаються українські гідрогеологічні дослідження, згруповані за типами: регіональне картографування та зонування; гідрометричні й ізотопні методи; дослідження зони аерації; геохімічне моделювання взаємодії вода–гірські породи; характеристика мінеральних вод; моніторинг і моделювання забруднення, пов’язаного з аварією на четвертому блоці Чорнобильської АЕС; оцінка уранових об’єктів і нафтових вуглеводнів; карстові та спелеологічні дослідження; ресурси питної та зрошувальної води. Хоча більшість українських праць, написаних російською або українською мовами, недостатньо визнані на міжнародному рівні, вони представляють суттєві досягнення в експериментальних і чисельних гідрогеологічних методах. Стаття завершується обгрунтуванням подальших дій. Institute of Geological Sciences, NAS of Ukraine 2026-06-29 Article Article application/pdf http://geojournal.igs-nas.org.ua/article/view/363462 10.30836/igs.1025-6814.2026.2.363462 Geological Journal; No. 2 (2026); 93-103 Геологический журнал; № 2 (2026); 93-103 Геологічний журнал; № 2 (2026); 93-103 2522-4107 1025-6814 10.30836/igs.1025-6814.2026.2 en http://geojournal.igs-nas.org.ua/article/view/363462/351613 Авторське право (c) 2026 Б. Файбішенко, С.Б Шехунова https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 |
| spellingShingle | Hydrogeology Ukraine Hydrogeological Mapping Modeling Karst Mineral water Chornobyl Vadose Zone Hydrology Файбішенко, Б. Шехунова, С.Б HYDROGEOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN UKRAINE: INFLUENTIAL CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE INSTITUTE OF GEOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND ALLIED INSTITUTIONS |
| title | HYDROGEOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN UKRAINE: INFLUENTIAL CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE INSTITUTE OF GEOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND ALLIED INSTITUTIONS |
| title_alt | ГІДРОГЕОЛОГІЧНІ ДОСЛІДЖЕННЯ В УКРАЇНІ: ВПЛИВОВИЙ ВНЕСОК ІНСТИТУТУ ГЕОЛОГІЧНИХ НАУК ТА СУМІЖНИХ УСТАНОВ |
| title_full | HYDROGEOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN UKRAINE: INFLUENTIAL CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE INSTITUTE OF GEOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND ALLIED INSTITUTIONS |
| title_fullStr | HYDROGEOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN UKRAINE: INFLUENTIAL CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE INSTITUTE OF GEOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND ALLIED INSTITUTIONS |
| title_full_unstemmed | HYDROGEOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN UKRAINE: INFLUENTIAL CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE INSTITUTE OF GEOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND ALLIED INSTITUTIONS |
| title_short | HYDROGEOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN UKRAINE: INFLUENTIAL CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE INSTITUTE OF GEOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND ALLIED INSTITUTIONS |
| title_sort | hydrogeological research in ukraine: influential contributions from the institute of geological sciences and allied institutions |
| topic | Hydrogeology Ukraine Hydrogeological Mapping Modeling Karst Mineral water Chornobyl Vadose Zone Hydrology |
| topic_facet | Hydrogeology Ukraine Hydrogeological Mapping Modeling Karst Mineral water Chornobyl Vadose Zone Hydrology гідрогеологія Україна гідрогеологічне картування моделювання карст мінеральні води Чорнобиль гідрологія вадозної зони |
| url | http://geojournal.igs-nas.org.ua/article/view/363462 |
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