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Decentralisation in Ukraine is an important factor in the development of a democratic system of government. The reform of local self-government aims to create new relations between citizens, local authorities, and the state. The aim of the article is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the local government reform in Ukraine and other countries in order to identify its main advantages and disadvantages as well as indicate ways to overcome the existing shortcomings in this area. The study determined that decentralisation in the country leads to democratic transformations of society based on civic initiative and responsibility, as well as provides a decent standard of living and quality services at the local level. The introduction of decentralisation can be observed in almost all areas, including administrative, political, financial, and social. This significantly affects the potential of the population and increases the responsibility of public authorities to the population. There is an increase in the level of public services with regard to economic, legal, political, social, and ethnic issues. Finally, proposals were made to make changes in the field of local self-government in order to overcome the existing problems in this area.

The article discusses the political and legal aspects and the dynamics of Ukraine’s interaction with the EU and its Member States in the field of integrated border management in order to improve interagency and international cooperation, introduce joint control at checkpoints, organise joint patrols, improve the level of security and openness of state borders and enhance their integration function. The issues of construction and modernisation of checkpoints, implementation of European border standards, customs and other types of control at the state border of Ukraine and the EU countries have been researched. The perspectives of Ukraine’s entry into the integrated border management system at the present stage have been outlined. The mechanisms of in-depth cooperation in the field of integrated border management under conditions of implementing the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU have been elucidated.

The paper discusses the findings from a survey conducted on representative samples from three historically dissimilar regions of Poland (Eastern Poland, Galicia, western and northern regions) and two in Ukraine (western and eastern Ukraine). It outlines the results of analyses investigating regional disparities in Poland and Ukraine, and similarities shared by all the five regions in terms of different aspects of local and national identity, taking into account the role of objective factors affecting regional disparities (mainly urbanisation rates). A series of cluster analyses has proven that the area of Poland is much more homogeneous than that of Ukraine. Likewise, western Ukrainians showed more similarity to the inhabitants of eastern and south-eastern regions of Poland than to the eastern parts of Ukraine.

The article addresses the structural–temporal changes in the characteristics of the labour market in the oblasts of the Carpathian region of Ukraine (Lvivska, Zakarpatska, Ivano-Frankivska and Chernivetska) due to the large-scale Russian military invasion of Ukraine. Regional, sectoral and market condition–related changes in the labour market and employment in the region during the war are identified. The article defines the threats to the functioning of the regional labour market, which are related to growing unemployment, increasing pressure on social infrastructure and the domestic labour market, reduction in human resources and the growing trend of relocation of business and skilled workers from the western oblasts of Ukraine to other countries. The policy for social-labour stabilisation of the oblasts in the Carpathian region of Ukraine in conditions of war and post-war recovery is substantiated.

The article considers the peculiarities of local government reform based on the examples of Ukraine, Poland, and Latvia. It is substantiated that the Ukrainian vector of European integration requires the implementation of the principles of deconcentration, decentralisation, and subsidiarity in the local governance systems. It is indicated that regional disproportions in the development of the territory of Ukraine, the inability to implement the reform on the ground in specific administrative-territorial units, the spread of corruption schemes – all these are the consequences of an ineffective model of local self-government and public administration of regional development, inherited from the Soviet system, which requires fundamental changes. Broad powers for sub-regional units characterise the Polish model of the administrative-territorial structure. However, this model is underpinned by a high level of political activity and community self-awareness. The Latvian experience of decentralisation of power emphasises the basic principle of success: the volunteer approach to the reform’s implementation. In conclusion, it is proved that for the successful implementation of the Ukrainian local self-government reform, the following factors are necessary: firstly, the victory of Ukrainian armed forces against the military aggression of Russia; secondly, the elaboration of a legal framework for the development of local self-government and the support of society; thirdly, qualified personnel capable of continuing the implementation of the local self-government reform.

The aim of the work was to analyse the essence of recreational resources as a component of ecosystem services for the planning and development of recreation within the protected areas of Ukraine. This study highlights the features and essence of the ecosystem services concept. The classification, characteristics and possibilities of cultural ecosystem services usage of protected areas are assessed, and the location and importance of recreational services are emphasized. Theoretical and methodological approaches to the recreational ecosystem services assessment of protected areas were performed using GIS tools. The negative consequences of the Russian Federation military aggression on the protected areas of Ukraine and the ecosystem services decline are considered. The main advantages and obstacles of implementing the ecosystem services concept for planning the recreation development of the Ukrainian nature reserve fund are discussed.

Current glocalisation processes require the identification of priority areas for Ukraine’s further integration into the international economy. The right choice of direction, tools and forms of implementation allows the government to determine, justify and implement a competitive strategy for the country. The study aimed to determine the relationship between international economic integration and Ukraine’s global competitive power. Identifying Ukraine’s sectoral comparative advantages in trade with the EU and evaluating the index of the regional orientation of Ukraine for specific groups of goods and services made it possible to define the effects of economic collaboration with the European region. The assessment of the complementarity index of Ukrainian–European trade relations revealed that Ukraine and the European Union are main trading partners. Furthermore, the analysis of the mechanism of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union proved that the agreement actively contributes to the growth of Ukraine’s global competitive power. Comparative analysis in historical retrospect revealed priority areas for  improving the integration processes which help to form the main competitive advantages of the country.

The military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, which started in 2014 and came to another active phase in February 2022, may change Ukraine’s foreign trade in terms of both its geography and product structure. The regions of Ukraine will not only have to recover from the consequences of destruction, but also to seek new directions of foreign economic activity and build connections with reliable partners such as the European Union and the United States. The paper presents an analysis of changes in the foreign trade of Ukraine and its regions since 2014 and examines shifts in trade flows in the direction of Western leaders of global trade. The case of Georgia, another target of Russian military intervention, in the reorientation of its trade flows, is also considered.

The war initiated by the Russian Federation against Ukraine in 2022 can be seen as a drastic shock event with unpredictable long-term socio-political consequences at the national, regional and global levels. This study aims to identify the impact of war-related disturbances on the dynamics of social cleavages in Ukraine, in particular the possibility of deepening or diminishing such cleavages or promoting the occurrence of new ones. For decades, the internal partition of Ukraine into East and West has been attributed to national self-identification, linguistic and religious peculiarities and the geopolitical preferences of residents of different regions. Shortly before and after the outbreak of the Russian invasion, fundamental changes in Ukrainian society and domestic politics became evident, some of which can be interpreted as signs of the mitigation of social cleavages. Our findings revealed at least two significant shifts in these ‘old’, traditional cleavages: one occurred after the Revolution of Dignity and the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014, and the second one is emerging now, due to the full-scale war on Ukrainian territory against the Ukrainian people. More broadly, this research aims to assess the resilience of social cleavages in the face of a shock event.

The article studies determinants influencing the socially-vulnerable population of Ukraine in the period of the Russo-Ukrainian War. The research encompasses three directions: first, the study of the current number of socially vulnerable groups of the population within the boundaries of the Carpathian area; second, the study and analysis of the determinants influencing the number of socially-vulnerable groups of the population; third, the investigation of the degree of the determinants’ impact on the number of the socially-vulnerable population within the Carpathian area. The authors of the work have shaped five groups of determinants influencing socially-vulnerable population, namely national, administrative, economic, demographic, and social ones. The research confirms that before the war started in Ukraine, the number of socially-vulnerable population had been reducing both in the country and within the Carpathian area. In particular, in 2001–2021, the number of vulnerable groups of the population reduced by 23% in Ukraine, in the Chernivtsi region – by 24.5%, in the Ivano-Frankivsk region – by 10%, in the Transcarpathian region – by 8.6%, and in the Lviv region – by 6.1%. The situation has changed since the war started. Based on the conducted calculations, it is determined that the greatest impact on the socially-vulnerable population is created by the national and economic determinants, whilst the smallest one – by the demographic determinants, whereas the last ones depend on the geographic position of the region. It is also confirmed by calculations of the radar of determinants influencing socially-vulnerable population. During the Russo-Ukrainian War, the greatest impact of the determinants on socially-vulnerable population is marked in the Lviv region.

This paper explores the interrelationships between religious attitudes, ethnic and linguistic identities, and geopolitical preferences in three geopolitical fault-line cities in Eastern Ukraine – Mariupol, Kharkiv, and Dnipro. The research is based on data taken from a survey and the associated descriptive statistics and correlation analysis. The findings suggest that the religious divide in Eastern Ukraine does not generate additional division but instead strengthens the existing divide, which is known to be formulated in terms of geopolitical as opposed to language or ethnicity-based categories, although language and ethnicity do have an influence on geopolitical preferences. Moreover, civic-national identity appears to be more relevant than ethnic-national identity to understanding the religious fault-line in Eastern Ukraine.

The development of the Fourth Industrial Revolution has caused numerous problems in traditional labour markets, occurring both at the national level and the level of individual regions of the country. However, breakthrough technologies of the recent decade have initiated new forms of labour organisation, mainly digital jobs and the formation of a digital labour market, which contributes to solving the problems mentioned above. The paper’s goal is to assess the readiness of the economy of Ukraine and its regions for forming a digital labour market to determine promising strategic directions for its development. The findings justify the significant prospects for developing the digital labour market in Ukraine at the national and regional levels. Also, they determine the priority types of digital jobs in selected regions as well as form the methodological basis, information, and analytical base of the organisational and economic mechanism for managing its development.

The authors have determined that the healthcare system is on the verge of collapse, as it is unable to meet the population’s growing needs for medical care. An analysis of demographic situation and health indices of the adult population in the north-eastern region of Ukraine (based on the example of the Sumy region) was carried out. The study confirms the number of deaths caused by COVID-19, the growth of new cases of coronavirus, and the excessive burden on primary care physicians and infectious disease specialists. It has been determined that the negative state of the domestic healthcare system is due to the shortcomings of public administration and organisation of this system in terms of COVID-19. One of the most important priorities of public policy should be to preserve and strengthen the health of the population, the development of intersectoral cooperation on the principle of ‘healthcare – in all state policies’, and the priority of the nation itself, i.e. the formation of healthy behaviour.

The article is devoted to the reform of local self-government and territorial organisation of power in Ukraine, which took place in 2014–2020, combining three important tasks: improving the system of public authority, strengthening local self-government, and streamlining the administrative-territorial system in the state. The analysis conducted in the study concerns: the main problems to be addressed by the relevant reform; the chronology of the adoption of key regulations and their role in this process; the results of the amalgamation of territorial communities; and the communities’ ability to ensure the sustainable development of territories. As a result, the article highlights the stages of the implementation of the reform of local self-government and territorial organisation of power in Ukraine, as well as outlines several unresolved issues in this area.

The article contains a regional analysis of the Ukrainian labour market risks and its minimisation recommendations in the war period. The war’s consequences were the forced migration spread, the labour force reduction, the unemployment increase, and the decline in real incomes. The analysis of regional disproportions of labour market risks during the war showed that jobs declined, wages decreased, labour supply-demand imbalance and labour competition increased in the regions with the most consequences of military actions. The migration, unemployment, and wages trend became a base for developing the labour markets advantages matrix for Ukraine’s regions.

In the face of constant pandemic-related and military threats to citizens’ right to work, collective bargaining has become almost the only real instrument to reconcile the interests of social partners and consolidate their efforts. The authors proposed a methodology for assessing the development of social partnership in the regulation of labour remuneration based on a set of indicators and a comparative analysis of the indicators in several public organisations: the State Audit Service of Ukraine, the State Treasury Service of Ukraine, the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, the Police of Ukraine, and the Pension Fund of Ukraine. Based on the challenges and general trends revealed by the results of the analysis, the authors identified areas for improving collective wage bargaining and the best practices in social partnership for their dissemination in public organisations.

This study aims to clarify the role of actionism as a peacebuilding tool, identify the advantages and disadvantages of its various techniques (performance, happening, art installation, flash mob, etc.), and evaluate their effectiveness in the urbanized space. The research methodology is based on postmodernism and its comprehension of activism, public action and protest. Anti-war actionism is considered an element of the system of socio-political actionism. It is characterized as a set of spectacular forms of non-violent public protest against armed aggression and its consequences. The expansion of today’s anti-war actionism beyond the narrow artistic environment and its entrance into the broad social dimension is demonstrated. The empirical basis for the conceptualization of anti-war actionism includes two groups of actions: (1) anti-war actions carried out since the 1960s in the United States and Western Europe; (2) anti-war actions carried out in various countries in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The regional features of anti-war actionism under the conditions of armed conflicts and wars are determined, and the advantages and disadvantages of anti-war actionism as a peacebuilding technology are identified within the space of modern cities.

This article examines the potential risks of permanent population loss in Ukraine on account of Russian military actions dating back to 2014, which has hindered the ability of the stronghold territorial communities to recover. It outlines the context of displacement in Ukraine over the past eight years, assesses displaced people’s direct needs and considers both national and local policies to meet them. Finally, it forecasts factors that will impact the reluctance of displaced persons to return to the stronghold territories and details the necessary national and local responses.

This article reveals the geographical distribution, structures, and problematic aspects of business migration to the oblasts of the Carpathian region of Ukraine and abroad. In the context of the Russian–Ukrainian war, the article assesses the risks and threats that internal and international business migration pose to the Ukrainian economic system, economies of the Carpathian region, the internal consumer market, and business entities. Measures to mitigate the threats of business migration to the Carpathian region are offered. The implementation of certain measures will eliminate the identified threats to relocated businesses and minimise the risks to the social and economic development of the Carpathian region and Ukraine as a whole.

This paper examines the role of educational support in social entrepreneurship development in Poland and Ukraine based on comparative case studies and a computer-assisted web interviewing method. The research investigates cross-country and cross-institutional differences in education concerning social entrepreneurship. The paper considers the different levels of social entrepreneurship education in primary and secondary school, university, and non-formal education. It is established that students at all levels of education should have an entrepreneurial mindset, which is a prerequisite for sustainable development. The key directions for developing education regarding social entrepreneurship in Ukraine are identified.

This paper addresses the changes in the demographic development of Ukraine in the last 125 years in quantitative parameters of demographic sustainability: alterations in population size, its gender and age structure, and natural and migration movement. Demographic sustainability is considered to be the capacity of a country’s or a region’s demography to preserve a consistent population size with optimal proportions between its age categories. Eight historical-demographic stages related to specific military-political and socio-economic events are outlined and analysed. Demographic catastrophes and crises in Ukraine were directly related to the aggression of totalitarian regimes. They occurred at the initial stages of demographic transition, so Ukraine was capable of restoring the population size, albeit with deeply disturbed demographic structures. The large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine increases the risk of the occurrence of a modern demographic catastrophe. Nowadays, the demographic sustainability of Ukraine cannot be achieved autonomously without the positive impact of external factors – the respective governmental demographic and socio-economic policies.

The results of this study substantiate and compare the trends observed in the global labour market and the corresponding trends in the Ukrainian labour market in 2017–2022. With regard to the annual trend specification, this study has established the extent to which the Ukrainian labour market participants focus on the key areas of its development and has identified the problematic aspects that hinder the socio-economic recovery of the country. These findings have important implications for substantiating the course for the strategic development of the Ukrainian labour market, which should form the base for enhancing both life quality for the population and the socio-economic growth of the country.

The accident at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant was one of the largest in human history. It is often referred to as a global event because its effects were felt not only by Ukrainians but also by the populations of Belarus, Russia, Central Europe, the Balkans and the Scandinavian Peninsula. 2022 marked the 36th anniversary of this terrible occurrence, when the history of Ukraine in the late twentieth century was divided into two parts: before the tragedy of 26 April 1986, and after it.
Today, it is important for Ukrainian society not only to recognise the significance of the catastrophe and remember its victims but also to find ways to overcome its grave consequences. This requires comprehensive research useful for developing new approaches to minimising the environmental and socio-demographic problems caused by the Chornobyl tragedy. Thus, this research has practical scientific, humanitarian and socio-political significance. The novelty of the obtained results lies in the study’s critical rethinking of the achievements of predecessors and its analysis of historical sources concerning the environmental and socio-demographic consequences of the accident at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant as they manifested from 1986 to 2022.
The methodological basis of the work is empirical cognition. The use of logical-analytical methods of grouping and typology allows us to classify homogeneous events and coherently present the material of the article. The study additionally uses comparative judgment, historical-statistical and problem-chronological methods. The principles of objectivity and impartiality also play an important role in the work.
The purpose of the study is to investigate the consequences of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident on the environmental and socio-demographic aspects of the population of Ukraine from 1986 to 2022 based on the identified set of sources. From a historical perspective, the level of pollution in the territories of Ukraine is traced, the demographic situation is monitored, and parallels are drawn between the Chornobyl disaster and the increase in incurable diseases and mortality.
In conclusion, the authors note that although 36 years have passed, the echo of this catastrophe remains tangible for the population of Ukraine. Several issues still must be solved. The first is the return to life, namely, the safe living and management of areas that have been exposed to radiation contamination, as well as the continuation of work aimed at restoring agricultural soils. Second, purposeful work must be conducted by the state to minimise social and demographic problems resulting from the Chornobyl catastrophe. In our opinion, the government should increase expenditures aimed at providing quality medical services to the population of Ukraine, as well as conduct constant monitoring of the health of those people who are at high risk in order to better detect diseases in their early stages.
These groups of people include liquidators of the consequences of the accident and migrants. Such measures can stabilise the demographic situation by increasing birth rates and reducing mortality, as well as improve the health and living standards of the population of Ukraine.

It is expected that people from all over the world will visit Ukraine after its victory in the war against Russian aggression, turning Ukraine into a world-popular tourist destination. Hence, Ukrainian egislation on tourism must be improved in the post-war period. The authors analysed the current legislation on tourism in Ukraine and identified major problems that must be addressed systematically and those that should be settled in the post-war period in view of the post-war humanitarian, socio-economic, institutional, and cultural challenges. In this context, the authors proposed a set of changes to improve Ukraine’s legislation on tourism on the national and institutional levels. Such changes should positively impact other socio-economic processes of reconstruction in post-war Ukraine.

The article discusses the idea of co-production, understood as informed and intentional participation of citizens in the organisation and provision of public services in the context of the global ageing process, a phenomenon which necessitates actions aimed to secure the needs of older people. The basis for the empirical investigation was a study carried out under the aegis of a WHO agency, the Centre for Health Development in Kobe, Japan. It offers an analysis of the case studies of initiatives addressed to elderly people in the local communities of 10 selected developing countries (Chile, China, Iran, Libya, Russia, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Ukraine, Vietnam). The key criterion in the selection of the analysed projects was direct involvement of institutional and non-institutional representatives of local communities in their implementation. As a participant (researcher) of this international survey, the author analyses the observable manifestations of silver co-production characterising the individual initiatives.

The purpose of writing the article is to study the effectiveness of water resources management in the Black Sea region of Ukraine in the context of sustainable development under the conditions of military operations. The theoretical approaches to defining the essence and functions of water resources management through the prism of sustainable development goals have been considered. The main problems of water resources management in the regions of Ukraine are systematised and the ways of their solution at the present stage of the reform are outlined. The author’s approach to evaluating the effectiveness of water resources management in the context of the model of sustainable development is proposed using the example of the Black Sea region of Ukraine. Methodical approaches to assessing the effectiveness of regional water resources management that includes the main stages, the criteria for assessing, indicators for each criterion, and a mathematical apparatus for their calculation have been developed. In accordance with the author’s approach, a diagnosis of the effectiveness of regional water resources management was conducted based on the example of the Black Sea region.

The article presents the history of decentralisation reforms in Ukraine beginning with the last decade of the 20th century until the end of the year 2021, with a special focus on the territorial-administrative reform implemented in 2015–2020. The level of local autonomy in Ukraine is compared to the local autonomy index in other European countries, which was created on the basis of the same methodology.

The article is devoted to determining the specifics of war injuries among people of various ages living in the deoccupied Kyiv and Kharkiv regions of Ukraine. The purpose of the research is to determine the residents’ traumatic experience in the de-occupied territories of Ukraine caused by the Russian-Ukrainian war. The direct effects of PTSD concern intimate relationships such as marriage, social interactions, decreased productivity, and decreased resilience. This study shows that PTSD symptoms are more common for respondents over fifty years of age, who have deficit of social resources. It has been proven that the severity of PTSD symptoms in the residents of the deoccupied Kharkiv region is statistically significantly lower than the symptoms of the residents of the de-occupied Kyiv region, which is due to the longer occupation and more pronounced joy from liberation. Therefore, the appearance of PTSD symptoms in a more delayed period is likely.

The paper explores the application of the gravity model, namely the delineation of the urban predominant influence areas via the generation of the multiplicatively weighted Voronoi diagram, to the socio-economic regionalisation and administrative territorial division of Ukraine, including the existing state of affairs and several proposals on their improvement. The research uses quantitative statistical data on interregional migration and rail passenger traffic within the country, processed via the Statistica analytics software, and a subsequent spatial analysis conducted by GIS. The findings suggest that the gravity model can serve as a tool for optimisation the administrative territorial division, as well as for the delineation of the planning regions and urban hinterlands. At the same time, it has certain limitations and should not be treated as a panacea for regional planning and development.

It has been substantiated that the increase in the concentration of heavy metals in the environment has especially aggravated in the conditions of military operations on the territory of Ukraine. The use of woody plants for the purposes of phytoremediation is one of the most effective options for optimising the state of the environment in urban ecosystems, regardless of the nature and source of contamination by metallic elements, which is of significant relevance in the conditions of post-war environmental restoration of Ukraine. The purpose of the study is to explore the peculiarities of some heavy metals accumulation by the assimilation apparatuses of the black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) plants growing in the recreational areas of the city of Dnipro in order to further optimise tree plantings with the aim of improving the environment. The content of heavy metal elements (Cu, Zn, Pb, and Cd) in the biomass of the Robinia pseudoacacia L. leaves and in the soils of Dnipro recreation areas has been determined. The intensity of the accumulation of heavy metals in the phytomass of the Robinia pseudoacacia L. represents the following sequence Zn > Cu > Pb > Cd, which demonstrates a more intense absorption and accumulation in the phytomass of the leafy fraction of Zn and Cu in the phytomass of the deciduous fraction, and less significant of Pb and Cd. With the help of geo-information systems, cartographic material has been developed. It demonstrates the concentration gradient of Pb, Cu, Cd, and Zn in the assimilation organs of the black locust plants in the city of Dnipro recreational areas. Based on the cartographic analysis, it has been proved that the general condition of the soils in the recreation areas of Dnipro is characterised by significant disproportions in the level of pollution. The maps show the existing potential of the accumulative capacity of Robinia pseudoacacia L. to deposit Pb, Cu, Cd, and Zn, which allows for additional city functional zoning by considering phytoremediation functions of the existing and planned green spaces.

Nowadays, the development of local communities is hindered by crises, external shocks, and disturbance. Under such circumstances, an important characteristic is their resilience, i.e. the ability to withstand negative external influences and ensure further growth. Border communities are particularly sensitive to external stresses stemming from geopolitical and economic changes. The article aims to identify key determinants and indicators of territorial community resilience in the EU-Ukraine cross-border area. The methodological foundations of the research comprise the main provision of economic theory, regional development, and spatial economy theory, etc. The methods of comparative, economic, and statistical analysis are used in the study of various dimensions of community resilience. The main results of the study of the peculiarities of socioeconomic development of Ukraine’s border communities and existing opportunities for the use of instruments of cross-border cooperation derive from a sociological survey based on the expert opinion method.