The war of the russian federation against Ukraine has provoked the emergence of new challenges and threats to global security, including social and food-, energy-, and logistics-related ones, etc. Therefore, the geography, structure, and logistics of world trade have undergone significant changes and continue to transform in the face of today's challenges. Ukraine, being an important exporter of agricultural products located at the crossroads of the main trade routes Europe-Asia, must adapt to the new realities of the development of the international freight transportation market. Currently, the capacity of the Ukraine-EU border section does not meet modern needs and challenges due to insufficient capacity of transport systems, checkpoints, lack of rolling stock, storage and transshipment terminals, etc., both in Ukraine and in the EU. The development of multimodal transport in Ukraine, including the necessary infrastructure (intermodal terminals, container warehouses, etc.), and the expansion of the list of transport and logistics services are among the ways to solve this problem. The article analyzes the dynamics and structure of international and transit cargo transportation across the customs border of Ukraine in 2014 - 8 months of 2022. The main trends in the passage of vehicles through the Ukraine-EU customs border for January-August 2022 compared to the same period last year are given. Attention is focused on a significant increase in the load of road transport on the customs land border of Ukraine in 2022. Prospects for increasing freight traffic on the Ukraine-EU border in the short-term and long-term perspectives are assessed. The terminology of the study of multimodal transportation in Ukraine is clarified. The peculiarities of the operation of the largest container terminals of Ukraine are studied. Improvement of the state border crossing infrastructure, in particular in terms of increasing the throughput capacity of the Ukraine-EU customs border, should include optimization and stimulation of rail freight transportation, restoration and increase of production capacities for cargo handling of railway terminals, development of a network of intermodal and transshipment terminals, creation of border "dry ports" and cross-border logistics hubs with the introduction of joint control by the authorities of neighboring countries, and simplification of border crossing procedures for multimodal and contrail transportation. 

international and transit freight transportation, multimodal transportation, transport terminals, container terminals, Ukraine 

The main tools for the formation and implementation of Innovation Policy and Cohesion Policy, which are used to achieve the priorities set in smart specialization strategies at the national and regional levels, are studied. The peculiarities of their use in the context of individual regions of the EU are analyzed, taking into account the trends and development needs of each individual region or country; depending on the selected areas of smart specialization; depending on the type of region according to the OECD classification by economic profile, etc. The most common tools for implementing smart specialization priorities are identified: supporting the functioning of clusters, improving business start-up procedures, public procurement, financial assistance, cooperation with other regions, creating various platforms to stimulate cooperation between enterprises, scientists and authorities, improving the training processes, etc. Two types of cluster policy are analyzed: funding support activities, such as cluster mapping and supporting cluster development, without identifying priority areas (such as the Czech Republic); support for certain areas of activity. Two types of public procurement are outlined: those that promote innovation, i.e. the purchase of direct results of innovation activities, and innovative, i.e. the purchase of an innovation process, the results of which are not yet presented on the market. Forms of providing financial assistance to economic entities in the development of innovations that use certain regions of the EU in their smart specialization strategies are given, including lending, subsidies, access to project funding programs, etc. The tools of regional innovative development in the context of traditional, new and experimental tools and their contribution to the generation, dissemination and use of knowledge are systematized. The active and passive tools for supporting the development of innovations in the field of small and medium business and the peculiarities of their use at the global, regional and micro levels are presented. 

smart specialization strategies, tools for implementing smart specialization strategies, European Union 

The article focuses on the need to reorient the economy of Ukraine to the production of high-quality products that are characterized by innovation and science-intensiveness in order to gain greater benefits from integration into global value chains. The directions of intensification of processes of entrepreneurial activity internationalization in the border regions of Ukraine are offered, in particular: advisory support for the entry of domestic enterprises into foreign markets; transition from production based on toll-free raw materials to full cycle production; design and development of brands; stimulation of attracting foreign investments into the development of domestic promising productions; creation of a favorable climate for the development of entrepreneurship, trade and the opening of branches of transnational corporations. The existing institutions in Ukraine, both state and public, are analyzed, the purpose of which is to support enterprises in the issues of entering foreign markets. The enterprises of the border regions of Ukraine, integrated into international production networks are investigated. The conclusion is made regarding the active participation of enterprises of the border regions in the global chains in the field of mechanical engineering, but their activity is reduced to only one or two parts of the production process associated with the production of goods. A large percentage of enterprises cooperate in terms of exports of manufactured products, as well as import of the necessary raw materials and materials for production with the neighboring countries, in particular Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Belarus, etc. The emphasis is on the need for design, which will allow them to search for new product concepts and innovative solutions and will create brands for entering foreign markets. Comparison of Ukrainian and world practice on the main factors contributing to trade in OECD research is carried out. Special attention is paid to clusters as connecting elements of small and medium-sized enterprises with the network for cooperation with the international market through horizontal communications. 

global value chains, border regions, clusters, transnational corporations, internationalization of entrepreneurial activity 

The article provides a comparative analysis of the socio-economic progress of the regions of Ukraine and the country as a whole in achieving the goals of the 2030 Sustainable Development Program in relation to reducing the inequality of income distribution among the population. The indicators of inequality of income distribution among the population are considered. Ensuring the availability of social services for households in the regions of Ukraine are analyzed. The the policy of remuneration based on equality and equity across the series of indicators is assessed. Comparison of the income concentration ratio (Gini coefficient) and the average monthly salary in Ukraine and EU member states is done. The share of wages in GDP is another important indicator of income differentiation. In the world, there is a trend towards the reduction of this rate: from 57% in 2000 to 55% in 2015. The same trend is typical for Ukraine, although the absolute value of the indicator is considerably inferior to the rest of the countries. Since 2012, this indicator has decreased from 50.3% to 36.6% as of 2016. Given the low overall wages as a result of low levels of labor productivity, technological backwardness of the country's economy, lack of prospects for proper employment, Ukraine is today one of the largest donor countries in the world. In addition, the trend of outflow of young and highly skilled personnel from year to year only increases. Prevalence of non-economic factors influencing the formation of strategic guidelines for ensuring sustainable development of the country (sharp devaluation of the national currency, unreasonable tariffs for gas, electricity, etc.) has a significant impact on further imbalance of the existing economic system in Ukraine and undermines the population's confidence in possible positive changes. In this year's draft Law on the State Budget of Ukraine for 2019 (from 15.09.2018), the amount of hourly wage is set at UAH 25.13 for 2019, which is more than 6 times less than its lowest level in the EU countries. At the same time, the economic development of the country and its regions should be accompanied by an increase in social standards, a level and quality of life of the population, while ensuring equal opportunities for its access to economic resources and basic services. This is a priority task of the state in solving the problem of reducing inequality and regulating the migration flows. 

sustainable development, income differentiation, reduction of inequality, household incomes, availability of services in the social sphere 

The peculiarities of the transformation of the economic environment of the border regions based on the analysis of changes in the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of its structural elements in the context of deepening of the European integration processes are investigated. The problems and directions of social and economic development of the border regions in the conditions of liberalization of the cross-border movement of goods and services, persons, capital between Ukraine and the EU are outlined. In general, monitoring the development of border areas adjacent to EU member states has shown a significant lag of their socio-economic development in comparison with the rest of the country’s regions. Increasing the transparency of borders, the attractiveness of foreign labor markets and educational services are factors that intensify the processes of outflow of skilled labor and youth in the border regions of neighboring countries. At the same time, they have additional competitive advantages related to the opportunities offered by the implementation of cross-border cooperation, which is intended to become an important instrument for the implementation of the state regional policy precisely at the border areas. Proximity to markets and the coherence of the spatial development of cross-border regions with the participation of Ukrainian regions are those competitive advantages that allow attracting foreign investors to invest in the economy of the border regions. However, EU member states are not very active in investing in the territory of the border regions of Ukraine. The exception is the Republic of Poland, whose share of investments is significant in the economy of Lviv, Volyn and Transcarpathian regions. Despite territorial proximity, Romania does not consider the border areas of Ukraine as attractive in terms of investment. Accordingly, the share of Romanian investments in the economy of Ivano-Frankivsk oblast in recent years ranges from 0.2-0.3%, Chernivtsi region – 0.1%, Odesa – 4-6%. The low investment activity of investors from neighboring EU Member States (primarily Romania, Slovakia and Hungary) in increasing investment in the territory of the border regions of the country necessitates the activation of the work of local authorities, chambers of commerce and industry, etc., in establishing closer contacts, developing joint investment projects, organization of business missions, search for new forms of entrepreneurship development in the common cross-border area, coordination of activities on spatial organization of the economy adjacent territories. Despite the borderline location and available opportunities for the intensification of foreign economic activity, the economy of the border areas (with the exception of the Transcarpathian region) is less open compared to other regions of Ukraine. The analysis of foreign economic activity of the border regions allowed to reveal the changing tendencies in the use of possibilities of cross-border cooperation in the light of the deepening of European integration processes. 

border regions, structural transformation, economic environment, state regional policy 

The article outlines the tendencies of social and economic development of border regions in the conditions of liberalization of goods and services, labor, capital markets, etc. The main challenges faced by the border areas in conditions of unstable economic growth are revealed. The results of an expert survey of representatives of local self-government bodies on the causes and level of shadow economy of the border areas are presented. The influence of border trade on the shadowing of economic activity at the border is investigated. The directions of reducing the level of economy shadowing of the border regions are proposed. 

border regions, shadow sector, border trade, eurointegration processes