Peculiarities and main challenges of realization of Ukraine’s export potential in the conditions of war are studied. An analysis of the commodity structure of the country’s exports in 2021-2023 in monetary and physical dimensions was carried out. The value of the largest product groups of domestic exports per 1 ton was estimated, which made it possible to determine the prospects for the development of logistics and transport infrastructure for international transportation. The regional structure of export transportation in 2021-2023 is given. It has been studied that before the war, agriculture and metallurgy provided about 50% of foreign exchange earnings from exports and accounted for more than 70% of the physical volume of all exports. The commodity structure of export determined the formation of its logistics, the basis of which was sea transportation. The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 affected the reduction of export potential by almost 40% due to the blocking of sea ports and the destruction of the production capacities of some export-oriented enterprises. Among the regions of Ukraine, about 40% of the total cargo flow was generated in Dnipropetrovska Oblast and the city of Kyiv, and about 70% in six regions of the country (Dnipropetrovska, Donetska, Zaporizhska, Mykolaivska, and Poltavska Oblasts and the city of Kyiv). Transportation of the main part of the products was carried out by railway in the direction of sea ports for further transportation already by sea transport. Factors influencing the formation and development of the country’s export logistics in wartime conditions have been identified. The directions of reorientation of cargo flows from Ukraine and the establishment of new logistics routes were studied. At the same time, the dynamics of changes in export volumes, its commodity and geographical structure are taken into account. It was found that the redistribution of commodity flows from Ukraine, caused by the war, is characterized by a significant reduction in exports to Asian and partly African markets, with a simultaneous reorientation to European markets, especially to neighboring countries. The dynamics of international freight transportation of Ukraine by types of transport was analyzed in terms of border sections and types of transport. It was investigated that the establishment of new logistics routes for the export of domestic products and the reorientation of part of the cargo flows from Ukrainian seaports in the direction of the western land border significantly increased the load on this section of the border. The throughput capacity of the border infrastructure on the Ukraine-EU border section did not meet the existing needs for exporting products. It is substantiated that the development and construction of the logistics and transport infrastructure to ensure the export of domestic products should take into account not only the current needs in the export of products. Their planning should be based on assessments of the commodity structure of exports in the medium and long term and forecast volumes of international and transit cargo flows. 

export of products, logistical challenges, export logistics, international freight transportation, logistics and transport infrastructure, regions, Ukraine 

Transport and logistics system of Ukraine is a circulatory system of the economy. In the conditions of war, it plays a vital role in the delivery of humanitarian, social, food, energy, and, above all, military aid to Ukraine. The ability of the national transport network to provide reliable just-in-time shipment of goods in the required quantity to the end consumers and the interoperability level of the national and European transport systems today are the factors influencing the risk formation processes on a global scale. The war in Ukraine has brought about rapid changes in shipping and logistics, as well as in the structure and volume of international and transit cargo flows. In 2019-2021, about 20-25% of cargo transportation by road transport in international traffic was carried out through the territory of russia and belarus; more than two-thirds of goods crossing (in physical terms) the customs border of Ukraine were sold through sea checkpoints. However, in 2022, compared to the previous year, the number of vehicles that crossed the customs border of Ukraine with EU countries has increased by 21%, especially with Romania - by 64%. Automobile transport became the leader in terms of the volume of imports brought into the country, and railway transport took the second place. The rapid growth in the volume of rail and road freight transportation to Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania has significantly increased the burden on the transport and border infrastructure of the border regions of Ukraine. In such conditions, the available capacity of the transport and logistics infrastructure in the Ukraine-EU cross-border space proved to be insufficient. Therefore, the article offers a methodical approach to the analysis of the logistics and transport infrastructure of the border regions of Ukraine, taking into account the peculiarities and prospects of its operation at the international (European), national, and regional levels. The components of the logistics and transport infrastructure are defined, and the integral indices of the logistics and transport infrastructure are calculated. Ways of efficient realization of the capacity and the development of the transport and logistics infrastructure of the border regions of Ukraine are suggested. 

logistics and transport infrastructure, methodical approach, border regions, Ukraine, European Union 

An integral part of the implementation of any reform is the emergence of the risks of its negative impact on one or another area of region development. The decentralization reform in Ukraine is not an exception. In its the context the most probable occurrence of negative phenomena is in the border regions, which could be prevented by first detecting them. In the scientific article, the authors focus on the analysis of a number of challenges for the development of border regions in the context of decentralization reform. Given the territorial remoteness of the central regions of the country and the capital, which today serve as areas of concentration of investment and economic activity, the border regions traditionally (this is typical for the border areas of the EU member states) lag behind the rest of the regions by the main socio-economic indicators of development. Among the main challenges facing the border regions of Ukraine today are the following: the provision of competitiveness in the context of European integration processes and reduction of the border barrier function; low level of economic security; the outflow of human capital and the issue of ethnic minorities. Based on an expert survey of representatives of the fifteen united territorial communities (UTCs), the possibility of such risks of decentralization in the border regions were defined as following: groundless use of local budget funds; emergence of significant imbalances between delegated new authority and available financial resources of the community; increasing uneven development of territories within the community; increasing uneven development of communities within the country; deterioration of the availability and quality of providing educational and medical services; deterioration of the quality of local government; reducing of the state influence on the management of local development processes; radicalization of political unions representing the interests of ethnic minorities in places of their compact residence; further economic decline of the territory of communities and so on. 

challenges of border regions’ development, risks of decentralization, decentralization reform, border regions, regional policy, united territorial communities