ABSTRACT The revolution of 1917–20 has become a prominent reference point in discussions of the current Russo-Ukrainian war in both countries, in part because Vladimir Putin blames Vladimir Lenin for the creation of an “artificial” Ukraine from “historical” Russian lands. This article argues instead that the Bolshevik conquest of Ukraine was, in many respects, similar to Putin’s war. Lenin and the Russian Bolsheviks operating in Ukraine shared many cultural assumptions and policies with their ideological nemesis, the Russian White Army, and ultimately with Putin’s ideologues. Paramount among these was an “imperial ambiguity” about what Ukraine was in relation to Russia, reflecting uncertainty about Russia’s own identity. Some Ukrainian Bolsheviks at the time viewed Moscow’s policies in Ukraine as colonialist. The article demonstrates that it was the international situation and Ukrainian resistance that forced Lenin to adopt the notion of ethno-linguistic Ukrainian territories, which he acknowledged as a useful foreign policy tool. Rather than “creating” Ukraine, Lenin can instead be credited with the creation of a “Russian” Crimea, which a century later would serve as a launchpad for Russian aggression.

Introduction. Martial law, the deterioration of the health of the Ukrainian population against the backdrop of four years of Russian aggression, and the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic necessitate changes to the structure, forms, and scope of undergraduate, postgraduate dental education and continuous professional development of dentists to ensure qualified dental care for the population. Objective. To evaluate the current system of undergraduate, postgraduate dental education and continuing professional development of dentists in Ukraine and its relevance to current challenges, to identify measures for necessary changes. Materials and methods of research. An assessment of the existing regulatory framework and practical principles of undergraduate, postgraduate dental education and continuing professional development of dentists in Ukraine and the EU was carried out. Methods of a systematic approach and comparison were used. Results and discussion. The rapid development of digitalization in dental education and the introduction of interdisciplinary education, the latest information, simulation, and distance learning technologies, the use of artificial intelligence, and augmented reality techniques into the educational process must also be reflected in the new paradigm of continuing dental education in Ukraine in the current difficult circumstances. Undergraduate training for dentists will be provided in 2025 in Ukraine at 25 higher education institutions, including 14 higher education institutions of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, 3 higher education institutions of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, and 8 privately owned institutions. It lasts 5 years, which generally corresponds to the standards of dental education in the EU. According to the Unified State Electronic Database on Education, as of October 2025, only 7,491 people are studying dentistry (in 2020 – 12,759), of which 595 (in 2020 – 502) are state-funded, mainly in higher education institutions of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. The main characteristics of competency-based continuing dental education should be: modern content of educational programs developed in accordance with the needs of industry and society; student-centeredness; problem-oriented approach; rational use of teaching time with an emphasis on practice. Conclusions. Understanding the importance of dentists' competencies for the healthcare industry, the importance of their continuing education based on competence and proper medical practice, its integration with EU requirements, increasing the duration of internships, and introducing residencies will help improve the quality of dental education during wartime.

The article deals with the analysis of the main trends and challenges associated with the development of integrated reporting, the assessment of its impact on the quality of corporate governance, and the efficiency of companies’ operations, as well as the identification of obstacles that may arise during its implementation. The methodological framework of this study combines systemic methodology with bibliographic and monographic research methods. The authors’ contribution to solving the research problem lies in the systematization of global aspects and regional features of integrated reporting formation. The study reveals that the implementation of integrated reporting varies significantly across national contexts. The analysis highlights specific legislative differences, noting that France mandates the inclusion of verified non-financial information through the Grenelle II Act, whereas the United Kingdom requires strategic reports containing data on risks and social-environmental aspects through amendments to the Companies Act. Meanwhile, countries like Malaysia and Singapore have established specialized coordination committees. The scientific novelty of the study consists in the justification of the positive impact of integrated reporting on the quality of corporate governance and strategic planning. The results of the literature analysis substantiate the hypothesis that integrated reporting enhances the efficiency of decision-making and contributes to the growth of company value and investor capital. The practical significance of the results lies in the elaboration of directions for adapting international experience to Ukrainian realities. The implementation of integrated reporting, particularly, takes on special meaning in the context of massive destruction and economic losses caused by russian aggression. In this regard, integrated reporting acts not only as a tool for attracting investment but also as a mechanism for ensuring the transparent use of recovery funds. The findings allow for the development of practical recommendations for improving the use of this practice in Ukraine, taking into account specific war risks and environmental consequences.

ABSTRACT This study employs thematic analysis and critical discourse analysis to examine the translation of news from English-language sources by BBC News Russian between January and August 2025, focusing specifically on article headlines. The aim is to uncover ideological representations in the original headlines selected for translation and to analyze ideological shifts introduced in the translated headlines. The thematic analysis identified three interrelated themes in the corpus: the Russo-Ukrainian war, international relations, and Trump. The critical discourse analysis revealed that both BBC News and BBC News Russian frame the Russo-Ukrainian war as Russian aggression against Ukraine. Headlines in both languages invoke negative evaluations of Putin, portraying him as a dictator with an aggressive foreign policy and unwillingness to end the war. They also imply a critical evaluation of Trump, highlighting his attempt to secure a ceasefire with Putin by pressuring Ukraine and framing his foreign policy as manipulative. Translated headlines introduce additional evaluations, including skepticism about U.S.–Russia ceasefire negotiations, subtle ridicule of Trump’s efforts to persuade Putin to end the war, and criticism of Trump’s broader foreign policy approach – all conveyed primarily through irony.

ABSTRACT Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the EU granted candidacy status to Ukraine, Moldova, and later Georgia. NATO decided to expand to Finland and Sweden. In this article, we explain how the emotions-memory nexus has enabled both organizations’ decisions to enlarge. By introducing a rhetorical mechanism that enables the institutions to take action, we explain the role of emotions-memory nexus in bringing about the simultaneous enlargement decisions of the EU and NATO between 2022 and 2024 in the face of Russian aggression in Ukraine. Employing emotion discourse analysis to assess the official statements, conclusions and adopted documents of the EU and NATO, the article concludes that referrals to a shared past is scarce in the current enlargement decisions coupled with a strategic amnesia about the EU’s neighbourhood policy and past decisions on candidacy processes. We find that the EU decision to announce a revival of enlargement policy to include Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia mainly focused on values and norms through an inward-looking process, due to internal deliberations of the EU, whereas NATO’s enlargement decision was taken by an outward-facing process, i.e. underlining, vis-à-vis third countries (externally), the mission of NATO for providing security in Europe.

Cultural evolution is not as hasty as it sometimes seems to us; in any case, modern cultural orders are quite thoroughly explained by the conceptualizations of the last century in the most expressive versions of both the sociology of conflicts and the sociology of compromises, which are in no way opposed to each other in the logic of analysis of reality but are autonomous and do not exclude complementarity. One type of order is focused on the morphology of the conflict of cultural epochs and states in the terms of Georg Simmel, on the interaction of the flow of life and forms of culture, initially fixing their correspondence but subsequently losing it, up to the complete rejection by life of the forms that weigh it down, the rejection of the form of culture in general. We are talking about the opposition of the individual and society, about the insoluble conflict between individual life, which sacrifices its manifestations in favor of socially approved patterns, and cultural form, which gives rise to the “tragedy of culture.” The second perspective, on the contrary, avoids dramatic states, and places the focus on consumption, which Michel de Certeau presents as a multidimensional space of possibilities for anonymous creativity thanks to the special tactics of the ordinary person to bypass the established order, inventing an everyday life that is acceptable to him. Of course, any “branding of creativity” takes it out of the space of secrecy and into the public eye, but it is unlikely to completely neutralize its inspiration from “micro-freedom” (in Certeau’s terms). There is also a third, broader perspective on cultural orders, which has been rooted in the sociological tradition since Sombart and Weber and refers to the “spirit of capitalism”, its value and ethical justifications, and today to the “spirit of digital capitalism” in the space of action of “ethics of decision”, “solutionism” (Oliver Nachtwey, Timo Seidl), the essence of which is the belief that any social problem can be solved by “the correct use of the correct technologies.” The models of modern cultural orders presented in the article help to more accurately understand their interaction with social and economic orders, including in the circumstances of war, when Ukrainian society is in an emergent state as a result of Russian aggression.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 significantly changed one of the most important dynamics with the EU and NATO. Until then, policy toward Russia had been a fraught issue between the older Western European members and the more recent members from Central and Eastern Europe. While the former had prioritized economic relations, the latter had generally warned about the continued danger of Russian aggression. This debate had continued even after Russia’s first attacks on Ukraine in 2014. Since 2022, however, Europeans have finally acted in support of Ukraine, enacting several packages of economic sanctions. The Russia hawks saw their position vindicated, while the old Western power couple, France and Germany, have had to adjust theirs. This article examines this story of shifting power balances within the EU and NATO, applying a conceptual framework emphasizing political practice and persuasive ideas. It shows how the war has shifted the center of gravity in both organizations somewhat to the East, as Central and Eastern European countries speak with increased weight. However, the pendulum may well swing back soon, as most of these countries will find it hard broadening their policy agendas sufficiently to other issues. But most of all, several of the Central and East European countries may themselves be abandoning their old positions at the very moment they have won the debate over Europe’s Russia policy.

ABSTRACT Despite efforts to regulate offshore firms, these entities remain widespread and influential in the global economy – yet their role in studies on global production has been understudied. This paper addresses this gap by examining the strategic importance of offshore firms in Ukraine´s sunflower oil industry, a globally significant sector. Our findings show that although offshore enterprises make up just over one-third of the firms analysed, they dominate the sector in terms of revenues and exports. Alongside firms´ ownership (foreign, offshore, and domestic), we investigated the role of other structural factors on value capture, such as firm size, position within production network (seed producers, oil producers, and exporters), and level of production diversification across two periods: before and after the 2014 Russian aggression. A firm’s position in the production network proves crucial for the level of value capture. While foreign-owned firms achieved the highest relative value capture, offshore firms secured the largest absolute value. The results indicate that legal protection and international reputation, rather than tax avoidance, may be important motives for offshore registration in this industry.

Modern Ukraine faces an unprecedented social and medical challenge caused by the full-scale Russian aggression. As of July 2025, the number of veterans exceeds 1.5 million people, of whom more than 109,000 have disabilities as a result of the war, and after the end of hostilities, this figure may rise to 4–5 million. Over half of veterans (52.4%) require health promotion services, while key issues remain psycho-emotional instability, impaired physical functioning, social isolation, and a deficit of inclusive and motivating environments for long-term recovery. Existing rehabilitation approaches do not always provide sufficient levels of engagement and intrinsic motivation, which limits their sustainability over time. Adaptive golf is considered an innovative tool for comprehensive rehabilitation that combines measured physical activity, motor control development, cognitive concentration, emotional regulation, and social interaction, creating a space for dignity, autonomy, and return to active life. International experience confirms the effectiveness of adaptive golf in working with veterans; however, as of the end of 2024, only 21 adaptive sports clubs operate in Ukraine, and none of them specialize in golf. Research objective: to identify current directions for implementing adaptive golf practices for war veterans globally and prospects for their implementation in Ukraine. Material and methods. The research material consisted of publications, analytical reports of international organizations (USGA, EDGA, The R&A), regulatory documents, program materials, and official resources of adaptive golf projects for people with disabilities and war veterans. Methods of theoretical analysis and generalization of scientific literature, historical-logical method, and comparative analysis were used. Results. It was established that adaptive golf development progressed from individual initiatives of the 1960s to systematic international programs. The 1980s became a turning point with the creation of first specialized organizations: NAGA (1986), Adaptive Golf Foundation (1995), EDGA (1997). A key regulatory breakthrough was the introduction of Rule 25 in 2023, which automatically legalized adaptations for four disability categories. The educational EDUGOLF project (2020-2023) demonstrated 20-30% growth in participation of people with disabilities. Nine leading veteran programs were identified (PGA HOPE, SMGA, Range Fore Hope, Next 18 Golf Camps, GIVE, Veterans Golf Program, Help for Heroes, Mates4Mates, True Patriot Love) that combine golf activities with psychological support and physical rehabilitation and serve as an effective tool for war veteran rehabilitation. Main challenges: high equipment costs, limited access to courses, and need for coach education. Conclusions. Adaptive golf has formed as an independent direction combining rehabilitation, recreational, and social integration functions. For Ukraine, implementation of international experience is a strategic opportunity through adaptation of existing programs, use of educational resources, attraction of grant support, and integration into European networks. It is recommended to start with pilot programs based on existing golf clubs in partnership with rehabilitation centers and create a national coordination structure.

This paper examines community engagement, participatory methodologies, and inclusive practices in digital humanities as essential strategies for data collection during wartime. The Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine, houses over 7,000 inscriptions spanning more than a millennium, composed in diverse languages and scripts. These inscriptions are multilingual, multimodal, and layered, offering a rich yet endangered source for historical and cultural research amid ongoing Russian aggression. Since February 2022, over 470 culturally significant sites have been damaged or destroyed. While Saint Sophia has not been a direct target, its proximity to key infrastructure renders it vulnerable to missile and drone strikes. In response, researchers from Sweden have employed stakeholder interviews, knowledge exchange, and participatory data collection methods to preserve this heritage. These approaches challenge the prevalent assumption within the heritage sector that documentation and digitisation are definitive processes, while also addressing the institutional divide between technical and heritage expertise. The “Digital Documentation of Inscriptions in the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv” project began by identifying key stakeholders and their data needs through interviews and the establishment of a reference group. This group enabled broader expert participation in an initial workshop aimed at evaluating and refining digitisation methods. Museum personnel at Saint Sophia have played a central role in testing and assessing these methods on site. They have also been trained in workflows that enable them to independently conduct high-quality digitisation, data preprocessing, and data management, ensuring local capacity building and sustainable heritage preservation.

The dynamics of price explosivity in the whisky market are crucial for investors seeking portfolio diversification, particularly during periods of global economic instability. This article examines thirty-one whisky indices, grouped into three market groups (Market Performance Indices, Distillery Specific Indices, Collector Specific Indices) in terms of the occurrence of price explosivity periods and their co-explosivity. We use GSADF test to analyze price explosivity periods by using weekly data from December 31, 2012 to March 25, 2024. We find that the period most affected by price explosivity in the whisky market spans from 2016 and 2018. Bowmore, Springbank, Glenfarclas Family Cask, Macallan M18 and Macallan M25 show the highest level of price explosivity. We also confirm the strong co-explosivity effect among studied index groups. However, we find that whisky market does not prone to price explosivity during COVID-19 or the Russian aggression in Ukraine, unlike other markets. This stability makes the whisky market a valuable source of portfolio diversification in times of crisis.The dynamics of price explosivity in the whisky market are crucial for investors seeking portfolio diversification, particularly during periods of global economic instability. This article examines thirty-one whisky indices, grouped into three market groups (Market Performance Indices, Distillery Specific Indices, Collector Specific Indices) in terms of the occurrence of price explosivity periods and their co-explosivity. We use GSADF test to analyze price explosivity periods by using weekly data from December 31, 2012 to March 25, 2024. We find that the period most affected by price explosivity in the whisky market spans from 2016 and 2018. Bowmore, Springbank, Glenfarclas Family Cask, Macallan M18 and Macallan M25 show the highest level of price explosivity. We also confirm the strong co-explosivity effect among studied index groups. However, we find that whisky market does not prone to price explosivity during COVID-19 or the Russian aggression in Ukraine, unlike other markets. This stability makes the whisky market a valuable source of portfolio diversification in times of crisis.

The article examines the current problems and prospects of developing Ukraine’s legal policy in the context of socio-political transformation and martial law. Legal policy is considered as a key instrument for ensuring the rule of law, constitutional order, and stability of public governance under crisis conditions. The paper analyzes the challenges faced by the state since the beginning of Russian aggression in 2014 and its full-scale escalation in 2022, including institutional disintegration, fragmentation of law-making, limited access to justice, and problems of implementing human rights and freedoms. The article outlines the priority directions of legal policy modernization, including the digitalization of law-making and law-enforcement procedures, strengthening anti-corruption infrastructure, reforming the judiciary, and developing decentralization. Special attention is paid to aligning Ukraine’s legal policy with European standards, in particular the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, the recommendations of the Venice Commission, and the requirements of the acquis communautaire. The importance of implementing the principles of good governance as the basis for democratic transformation is emphasized. It is concluded that the development of Ukraine’s legal policy should be carried out as a comprehensive process aimed at combining security and democratic priorities, ensuring institutional resilience, strengthening the rule of law, and integrating into the legal space of the European Union.

This article examines how international media construct the legitimacy of war, focusing on coverage of two conflict declarations: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s military offensive in Gaza. Using a Critical Discourse Analysis framework, the study analyzes reports from The Guardian (UK) and The New York Post (US) to explore how discursive strategies shape public understandings of aggression, victimhood, and moral accountability. Despite a substantial body of research on media coverage of conflicts, comparative studies analyzing discursive strategies across distinct geopolitical contexts remain underrepresented. As such, this study seeks to answer the central research question: how do international media construct and differentiate the legitimacy of war in the context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, and what ideological functions are revealed through this comparative analysis? Previous studies have typically focused on single-case analyses, often overlooking how narratives vary across different geopolitical landscapes. This study addresses this gap, revealing clear asymmetries in media coverage: Ukraine is framed through explicit condemnation of Russian aggression, emotive depictions of civilian suffering, and authoritative quotations of Ukrainian and Western leaders. In contrast, Gaza coverage situates Israeli military action within security and counterterrorism narratives, downplays structural context, and marginalizes Palestinian perspectives through selective quotation. This comparative analysis offers unique insights into how the divergent framing of these events reveals broader ideological functions in news discourse, challenging single-case studies by showing how media representations normalize particular narratives of violence across different geopolitical contexts.

This article examines the issue of conscientious objection in Ukraine amidst the country’s ongoing war against Russian aggression. It argues that the suspension of alternative civilian service for conscientious objectors under martial law is inadvisable and indefensible, despite the concern for national defense. The analysis is presented in five sections: a historical overview of governmental responses to conscientious objectors, with particular focus on the illustrative case of the United States; a review of contemporary international and especially European human rights standards regarding conscientious objection and alternative service; an assessment of Ukraine’s current practices regarding the issue in light of those standards, suggestions for policy improvements with reference to the recent model and caution of South Korea; and reflections on the foundational importance and value of upholding freedom of conscience even during emergencies. This article argues that Ukraine can learn from historical and recent examples in bringing its policies and practices regarding conscientious objection into greater alignment with international norms and European standards.

The role of the international press as an instrument of hybrid warfare is addressed in the context of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, with an emphasis on the coverage by CNN and Russia Today (RT) during the escalation of the confrontation in the Donbas between 2022 and 2023. Based on the theoretical frameworks of framing, agenda setting, and propaganda, we examine how both media outlets construct narratives aligned with the geopolitical interests of their respective states. While CNN privileges democratic values and consolidates a narrative centered on Russian aggression, RT orients its coverage toward legitimizing Moscow's intervention and criticizing the West. Information is configured as a central strategic dimension of contemporary conflicts, where media coverage operates as symbolic devices designed to shape perceptions, justify military actions, and polarize audiences. The analysis incorporates comparative references to the cases of Syria, Korea, and Latin America, as well as the role of opinion makers and social media, problematizing the transformation of journalism into a tool of geopolitical confrontation and its implications for media ethics and international stability.

Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine between 2014 and 2024 is also accompanied by non-military actions. Information warfare plays an important role in this segment of operations. History is a fundamental component of the information and cognitive warfare waged by Russia against Ukraine in support of military action. Russian propaganda intensively exploits historical issues as part of information warfare and cognitive warfare against Ukraine for two main purposes. The first is to prevent the formation of a consolidated nation-state in Ukraine with its own historical memory. The second is to justify the military war against Ukraine. The common denominator of the above actions of Russian propaganda is Vladimir Putin’s claim of Ukraine as a failed state. History shows that, contrary to assumptions, the President of the Russian Federation has obtained the opposite of the intended result in the form of a Ukrainian nation and state successfully resisting Russian aggression, including in the field of information and cognitive warfare.

ABSTRACT The paper revisits the methodological and empirical challenges of studying language shift in Ukraine in the context of war and displacement. Previous research has often overlooked the complex linguistic landscape and evolving realities of Ukrainian society. Russian aggression against Ukraine in 2022 has further complicated the situation, triggering mass displacement and increasing the fluidity of the linguistic repertoires. Conventional survey methods face limitations in capturing these dynamics, struggling with sampling representativeness and growing sensitivities to questions of identity and language. We argue for a more nuanced approach that considers the specific experiences of minority groups and the emotional impact on respondents. This emphasizes the need for trauma-informed research strategies. The study highlights the importance of examining language shifts through patterns of language use across different domains and generational changes rather than relying solely on self-reported preferences or simple questions. By adopting a mixed-methods approach and a long-term perspective, researchers can better understand the multidirectional nature of language shifts and the diverse experiences of displaced populations. This study calls for a reconsideration of rigid macro-regional classifications and a greater focus on the fluid linguistic landscape shaped by war and displacement.

The Lublin Triangle Initiative, which is one of many new formats of regional cooperation (reflecting the ever-evolving process of regionalisation of international relations), has both symbolic and practical significance. The individual emphases, however, are distributed differently in the case of the three states that make up the Triangle - and, moreover, quite differently from the point of view of Belarus. The important symbolic significance of this format stems from the common historical and cultural heritage. In practical terms, an important factor determining the creation of the Triangle is a common awareness of the threat from Russia (this threat is also part of the historical heritage of the region), as well as common interests. The purpose of the study is to examine the peculiarities of implementation and historical retrospective of cooperation between the countries of the Lublin Triangle in the context of ensuring stability and security in Europe. The purpose of creating regional institutions is not only to promote cooperation and increase trust between partners in the region, but also to build the international position of both the region and its member states - this also applies to the Lublin Triangle. The international situation (Russian aggression) has increased interest in the Central European region and objectively increased its importance in international relations. Emerging regional cooperation initiatives should, by complementing each other and creating synergies, strengthen this regional subjectivity. Cooperation between the countries of the Lublin Triangle (Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania) is of great importance for ensuring stability and security in Europe for the following reasons: geopolitical importance (the Lublin Triangle countries are located on the eastern flank of NATO and the EU, making them a buffer between Europe and potential threats from the East. Poland and Lithuania are among the biggest supporters of Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression, providing military, financial and humanitarian assistance); military cooperation; economic cooperation; and political cooperation.

ABSTRACT Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 prompted concern about the country’s capacity to resist a more powerful adversary. Yet today, Ukraine continues to sustain resistance to Russian aggression whilst also pursuing far-reaching domestic reforms, including those linked to European Union accession. This symposium examines this conjunction of wartime resistance and reform. Bringing together contributions that analyse the perceptions, strategies, and behaviours of diverse public and private actors, this collection investigates how Ukrainians navigate the parallel demands of fighting a war, maintaining governance, and planning for the future. This symposium contributes substantively– by advancing understanding of resistance, resilience and reform in wartime – and methodologically, by reflecting on the challenges of researching politics as war unfolds.

Recognizing and Responding to Religious Support for Illegal War: The Russian Orthodox Church's Role in Russia's Aggression Against Ukraine