Integrated Spatial and Social Network Analysis of Conflict Impacts on Food Production in Eastern Ukraine; A Geospatial Perspective

Abstract

Ukraine-Russian geopolitical relations over the years have experienced periods of tranquility and violence with conflicts since 1917, including the events of the 2014 annexation of Crimea and the 2022 Russian invasion of the entirety of Ukraine. These conflicts remain developmental threats as their ramifications extend beyond battleground casualties and their assessment requires multi-perspective analysis. Understanding the spatial dimensions of such conflicts and their consequences on physical and social spaces at varying scales could provide credible scientific impetuses on which targeted post-conflict remediations could be built. This study therefore takes advantage of the capabilities of satellite remote sensing, to provide quick and effective spatiotemporal analysis of agricultural landcover change in eastern Ukraine from 2021 to 2023 while exploring patterns of civilian casualty, and dynamics of information flow on social media by examining Twitter #tags to uncover the network of social groups and interrelationships that emerged amidst the Russian-Ukrainian war.