On the 22nd of March 2018 two scientific expeditions left to the Ukrainian Antarctic Station “Academic Vernadsky”.
Ministry of Education and Science (MES) of Ukraine has approved a total budget of UAH 72 million (approx. €2,2 million), which included additional UAH 15 million for major repairs. First one-year expedition will be carried out by 12 research and technical staff members, who will carry out meteorological, biological and geophysical experiments. The second, seasonal expedition, consisting also of 12 researchers will last for almost three weeks. They will carry our experiments and collect samples for more than 20 research institutions of Ukraine. The next seasonal expedition is planned to last three months starting in December 2018. Immediate plans include improving the technical state of the station, the restoration of marine research in the Southern Ocean and the development of a new State program of research in Antarctica for 2021-2030 years. Strategic plans include expanding research to Arctic and the revival of the Ukrainian scientific fleet.