Undeclared War Research Articles

Consulting on the financial market in the system of improving the financial results of the enterprise’s activity

The relevance of the paper is determined by the fact that the socio-economic crisis in Ukraine is caused by the external aggression of the Russian Federation and is combined with global factors that reinforce negative trends. For Ukraine, as well as for rich other countries, it is important to take effective approaches to deal with crisis situations and ensure sustainable economic growth, including for implementing a wide range of approaches, such as financial stimulation, reforms in Galusia, regulatory policies, support for small and medium-sized enterprises. It is also important to consider the global context and work with international partners to ensure stability and growth. Implementation of effective strategies and measures can help Ukraine overcome the crisis, win the undeclared war and strengthen its economy in the future. The paper shows that financial consulting is an integrated approach to optimizing the financial activities of a business, which includes a variety of information and resources to achieve maximum efficiency. It plays an important role in ensuring the success of government entities both in domestic and foreign markets. Financial consulting plays an important role in the current development of businesses and emerging financial problems. Financial consulting contributes to increasing the efficiency of the company's internal activities, helps business entities to improve their interaction and financial relations with counterparties on the foreign market through the study and analysis of financial aspects of partnerships, the conclusion of agreements and contracts, as well as planning financial strategies in order to ensure stability and success in business. Activation of the use of financial consulting services in Ukraine is a key factor for the progressive development of business entities and the strengthening of the country's market economy. Using the advantages of financial consulting will help enterprises to optimize their financial activities, improve strategic planning and decision-making, increase management efficiency, as well as increase competitiveness on the international market.

Stanowisko Polski wobec agresji Rosji na Ukrainę. Perspektywy akcesji Ukrainy do Unii Europejskiej i NATO

The article aims to analyze Poland’s position on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine on February 24, 2022 and tries to show the prospects of its membership in the European Union and NATO. The undeclared war between Russia and Ukraine has been going on de facto since 2014, since the illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula to the Russian Federation. Since then and Russia’s aggression against Georgia in 2008, the West, led by the US, has been promising Ukraine membership in NATO and the European Union but for now, formal negotiations have not even begun. In this article, the author tries to answer why this is happening and, at the same time analyzes Poland’s position on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine in 2022 and its Euro-Atlantic aspirations. The main thesis is the statement that Ukraine’s accession to NATO and the European Union is in the Polish national interest and will not be without significance for Poland’s security.

Watching Photographs: Inhabiting a Queer Feminist Perspective to Contest Reproductions of the ‘Refugee Crisis’

ABSTRACT Journalists have claimed that the 2015 European ‘refugee crisis’ is one of the most photographed crises in human history. It is important to understand what kind of messages these photographs convey, how they reproduce the hegemonic narrative, and how they become commodities. In this paper, we critique the visual economy of the ‘refugee crisis’ from a queer feminist perspective through the lens of reproduction. We show how the reproduction of images of ‘refugees’ is structured by, and naturalises reproductive heteronormativity, amongst other institutions, which we argue is essential to the functioning of bordered nation-states: the figure of the refugee is reproduced as presumptively heterosexual, and as reproductive. We focus on watching photographic images because, as we have seen over the past six years, through the use and control of photography, states seek to generate consent to the necropolitical management of ‘crisis’, to the undeclared war against refugees. We argue that by watching photographs, as opposed to merely looking at them, we can inhabit a queer feminist perspective that seeks to abolish state-imposed divisions between ‘refugees’, ‘migrants’, and ‘citizens’.

Problem aspects of accounting and taxation of grain exports in Ukraine

The article examines the problems and features of accounting and taxation of grain exports in today's conditions. As a result of the invasion of Russia, Ukrainian agricultural enterprises have recently suffered significant losses. The occupiers are deliberately destroying the Ukrainian agricultural complex in order to deprive them of one of the main sources of income - the sale of agricultural products by commodity producers, as the main suppliers of food. However, in the conditions of an undeclared war between Russia and Ukraine, the European Union is trying to support the agrarian business of Ukraine and has allowed, according to the EU memorandum, to suspend customs duties and quotas of Ukrainian grain to EU countries until June 2024. Ukraine exports agricultural products through the land border with EU countries, as export by sea is currently difficult due to the invasion of Russia. Therefore, in order to preserve the grown and surviving crops, domestic producers have intensified grain export operations, and currently the issues of accounting and taxation of these operations are relevant. The implementation of foreign economic operations by business entities requires their registration with the customs authorities. When carrying out foreign economic activities, it is mandatory to conclude a foreign exchange contract, and agricultural producers must take into account many nuances in order to comply with the main legislative and customs requirements. Some foreign exchange contracts, in particular those relating to agricultural products, are subject to state registration. In particular, in order to verify and approve the export of agricultural products to the Slovak Republic, the Republic of Bulgaria, Romania, Poland and Hungary, it is necessary to obtain licenses for the export of legally defined types of agricultural products from 2023. As a rule, all calculations for foreign economic operations are carried out in foreign currency, which for the purpose of accounting and taxation must be converted into national currency at the rate of the National Bank of Ukraine. Operations for the export of goods outside the customs territory of Ukraine are subject to Value-Added Tax (VAT), in this regard, the exporter forms a tax invoice at the official hryvnias exchange rate set by the NBU for the previous working day. The exporter - the VAT payer is obliged to compile and register it in the Unified register of tax invoices (hereinafter referred to as the Tax Invoice Register) within the time limits specified in the Tax Code. The article summarizes the procedure for the export of agricultural products, considers the specifics of taxation of these operations, and identifies problematic and debatable issues regarding the implementation of these operations

The Dynamics of the US-Iran Relationship after the Assassination of Qassem Suleimani: Explanations and Predictions

The political dynamics of the US-Iran relationship have kept the two states always on the brink of the eruption of a major conflict. The targeted assassination of Major General Qassem Suleimani, one of the most consequential figures in Iranian military history, took the world to the brink of a global conflict on January 3, 2020. Fortunately, however, the subsequent events did not escalate to declared or undeclared war. This article provides a theoretical analysis of the conflict following the assassination of Major Suleimani to explain why and how war was avoided in this context. The analysis based on contemporary context, regional power dynamics, and relevant conditions illustrates how de-escalation of conflict was possible and argues why, in light of existing theories, there is hardly any possibility of a manifest war between the US and Iran in the near future despite prevailing in an alternate and latent form. Social Science Review, Vol. 40(1), Jun 2023 Page 185-201

THE IM/MEDIACY OF THE WAR

In the given article, the author addresses the issue of the perception of war in the information age through the prism of the concept of “im/mediacy”, considered in several interconnected aspects. Of special interest are the following questions: How the effect of the im/mediacy of the war is being constructed and produced in the current political, media, cultural and technological context? What factors define the distancing of and/or proximity of the war, and what role do the languages of war and resistance (as tools of communication) play in this process? The author discusses these key issues on the example of two specific cases — the full-scale Russian war against Ukraine that started in 2022, and the undeclared war of the authoritarian regime in Belarus against civil society that began in 2020. The author places this discussion in a larger context of the debates on decolonization of knowledge and culture in the ex-Soviet spaces. The conceptual framework employed combines semiotics, deco- lonial approach and poststructuralist philosophy.

Blackout in Ukraine and challenges regarding the storage of immunobiological drugs

An undeclared war has been going on in Ukraine for more than one year. Defeated at the front, Russia resorted to massive shelling of energy facilities with the aim of leaving Ukrainians without electricity and heat during the winter. As reported, since October 10, the Russians have fired more than a thousand missiles and drones at Ukrainian energy facilities. The shelling on November 23, 2022 led to a system crash — a blackout occurred. For the first time in the history of Ukraine, all of the country’s nuclear power units were shut down. In conditions of lack of light and non-working refrigerating chambers, the storage conditions of thermolabile immunobiological drugs became a new test for the medical community and patients. As you know, immunobiological drugs, which are widely used in the treatment of various rheumatological diseases, require strict storage conditions in the temperature range from +2 to +8°С. Under blackout conditions, it is difficult for Ukrainian patients to maintain optimal storage conditions for these drugs. The analysis of the studies showed that the majority of patients do not comply with the requirements for the storage of thermolabile drugs, even with the constant presence of light and electricity. Experts indicate that more and more thermolabile drugs are becoming available, and in most cases, these medications are dispensed to ambulatory patients. More thermolabile drugs are becoming available, and in most cases, these medications are dispensed to ambulatory patients. However, there is no regulation once medications are dispensed to patients and little is known with regard to what happens during transport and home storage. Previous studies suggest that these drugs are improperly stored. Future studies should focus on clinical consequences and possible solutions. It is recommended for Ukrainians to follow the rules and conditions of storage of heat-labile medicinal products during blackouts/emergency and stabilization blackouts.

Vantage Points

Vantage Points

Wojna poznawcza we współczesnym środowisku bezpieczeństwa

The term “cognition” or “cognitive science” was originally used in psychology, where it referred to human psychological processes such as attention, language use, memory, perception, problem solving, creativity and thinking. Nowadays, we can see that states and non-government organisations are using more and more modern technologies, and there is an undeclared war for control over human minds in the media. Cognitive warfare is not new to the security sciences, nevertheless, the development of civilisation has brought about anew perspective on this threat, as we can now consider it to be acomprehensive strategy that combines psychological warfare, as well as information and propaganda warfare carried out through, among others, social media, in order to shape people’s views on issues such as politics, economy, or military affairs. The latter ultimately results in afavourable enemy perception and achieves ‘behaviour change’, i.e. actions in favour of the enemy. The aim of this article is to present the evolution of cognitive warfare in the contemporary security environment.

Attitude of Russian Aggressors and their Supporters to Believers of Different Faiths in Ukraine (2014—2022)

The article is devoted to the analysis of the attitude of the Russian aggressors and their proxies to the religious communities of Ukraine in 2014–2022. It has been established that in its essence «Russian World» is a neo-imperial geopolitical ideological doctrine aimed at theoretical justification and practical restoration of «great historical Russia» in the borders of the Russian Empire at the peak of its power in 1914. It turned out that with the help of the «Russian world», an important «soft power» of the Kremlin, Russia first planned to take over the mental space of Ukraine and the brains of its citizens, and then, in case of urgent need, to enter its troops and finally annex this territory to their state. It is shown that the Russian Orthodox Church played an important role in the neo-imperial plans of Russia, as it acted as an active provider of the «Russian world» in the spiritual, political, cultural and humanitarian space of Ukraine, and with the help of its branch, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, actively created threats and obstacles to the consolidation of Ukrainian society, thereby destroying the spiritual and practical foundations of unifying processes in Ukraine. It is substantiated that Russia's undeclared war against Ukraine and Ukrainians, which began in 2014 and its temporary occupation of a large part of Ukrainian territories, became a real test for the Ukrainian state and its citizens and a terrible tragedy for believers of all faiths. The main reason for the hatred of religious communities by Russian terrorist groups in the temporarily occupied territories has been determined, which consists in the fact that the occupiers recognize only one religious organization as legitimate, namely the Russian Orthodox Church and its integral part – the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, all other religious denominations are illegal and hostile and must therefore be eliminated. Examples of crimes against humanity committed by Russian terrorist forces in the territories temporarily occupied by the enemy of Ukraine against religious communities are highlighted.

PLANNING OF EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH INDICATORS OF EFFICIENCY OF REMOTE- CONTROLED DEMINING COMPLEXES

With the beginning of the undeclared war of the russian federation against Ukraine in 2014, and the subsequent large-scale invasion in February 2022, the issue of reconnaissance and demining of the area from explosive devices both during the conduct of hostilities and in the absence of them became very acute. The experience of the war shows that the enemy, despite international conventions on the prohibition of certain types of mine weapons, uses its entire available arsenal of mines and improvised explosive devices, which are often set to non-removable. The analysis of the execution of such tasks by units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine shows that the reconnaissance and demining equipment in their arsenal is outdated and does not meet today’s requirements, and the main method of reconnaissance and demining is manual, which is extremely dangerous for the lives of personnel. To date, many leading countries of the world have developed and use remote reconnaissance and demining tools. However, they are expensive and have certain drawbacks. To solve this problem, research is being conducted on the creation of a domestic remote-controlled demining complex. In addition to theoretical provisions, one of its important stages is conducting an experimental study. In the article, on the basis of previously developed analytical provisions, the methodology of experimental studies of the indicators of the effectiveness of remote-controlled demining complexes is proposed. The specified technique involves conducting both a unilabiate and a multivariate experiment.

МЕТОДОЛОГІЯ ПРОЦЕСНО-ПРОСТОРОВОГО УПРАВЛІННЯ ПОТЕНЦІАЛОМ ПІДПРИЄМСТВ СИСТЕМИ ГАЗОПОСТАЧАННЯ В ПОСТІНДУСТРІАЛЬНІЙ ЕКОНОМІЦІ

Russia's undeclared war has led to a shift in worldview paradigms, Ukraine will face the scientific and practical problem of forming and achieving such a socio-economic level that will ensure its equality with the leading world powers. The article outlines the theories characterizing the phenomenon of the development of the world economy and singles out individual signs of readiness for the transition to a post-industrial society and the main factors influencing the transformational processes of the post-industrial economy. It is emphasized that there is a need to improve state policy in order to create market incentives for a more rational distribution of capital from the sphere of resource use to more technological sectors, taking into account social and environmental consequences. An analysis of the structure of Ukraine's primary energy, which affects the functioning of the economy and the fuel and energy complex, was carried out. Ukraine's energy balance is marked by structural and price disparities, which significantly worsen the country's energy security indicators. The energy intensity of Ukraine's GDP is given, the dynamics of its decrease is extremely low. The characteristics of the Ukrainian international gas transit system are given and the need to change its architecture is indicated. It is proposed to use the probability of trouble-free operation of the gas pipeline system when changing their configuration as a criterion for controlling energy consumption in the methodology of process-spatial management of the gas enterprises potential.

Repressive Policy of the Occupiers During Hybrid War Against Religious Communities of Ukraine, 2014-2022

The article analyzes the repressive policy of the occupiers during the undeclared Russian-Ukrainian hybrid war against the religious communities of Ukraine in 2014–2022. It has been established that the “russian world'' is a neo-imperial, geopolitical, ideological doctrine aimed at the theoretical substantiation and practical restoration of the "great historical Russia" within the borders of the Russian Empire at the peak of its power in 1914. By way of the "russian world," an important "soft power" of the Kremlin, Russia first planned to capture the mental space of Ukraine and the brains of its citizens; then, if necessary, they would deploy troops and annex this territory to their state. The Russian Orthodox Church played an important role in Russia's neo-imperial plans, as it was an active embodiment of the “russian world" in the spiritual, political, cultural, and humanitarian spaces of Ukraine. Russia's undeclared war against Ukraine and Ukrainians, which began in 2014 and temporarily occupied a large part of Ukraine, was a real ordeal for the Ukrainian state and its citizens and a terrible tragedy for believers of all faiths. Examples of crimes against humanity committed by Russian terrorist forces on the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine against religious communities are highlighted. The consequences of the criminal and aggressive policy of the Kremlin and the "russian world" introduced by the Russian terrorist forces and its impact on the situation of believers are shown. There are two tendencies that characterize the attitude of the Russian aggressors and their servants towards the believers of different denominations in Ukraine. During the first stage of the hybrid war (February 20, 2014 – February 23, 2022) the occupiers and their proxies on the temporarily occupied territories of Eastern Ukraine (parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions) and Crimea in accordance with the "russian world" doctrine favorized the Ukrainian Orthodox Churches of the Moscow Patriarchate, because they rightly considered it their ally in the conquest of Ukraine. During the second phase of the fullscale aggression of Russian troops (February 24, 2022) and the collapse of the so-called Russian blitzkrieg, the occupiers became inhumane and began destroying religious buildings, killing clergy and believers regardless of religion.

The Golden Billion: Russia, COVID, Murderous Global Elites.

SUMMARYThis essay tells the story of the hot, brooding summer that preceded Russia’s “special military operation” attack on Ukraine: an attack that could not legally be called a war and that many people in Russia supported even while they neither trusted the media nor cared to talk about politics. Rallying support for this undeclared war, Russian state rhetoric drew on images of WWII fascism, NATO expansion, and morally rotten transnational elites: themes resonant with long‐standing feelings of hurt national pride and personal abandonment in the face of spiraling social stratification. To many of its supporters, “the war seemed a relief after many years of stagnation,” wrote the Moscow‐based journalist Shura Burtin (2022). “Like a fire in prison: at least there’ll be some commotion.” This essay describes a high point of this pregnant stagnation. Written in August 2021, it draws on over a decade of ethnographic fieldwork in North‐Western Russia to examine the idea that a “Golden Billion” of the world’s most powerful people governs to exterminate the rest of us—at a moment when this idea seemed eminently reasonable.

Introduction: Patriarchal backlashes to feminism in times of crisis: plus ça change, moins ça change

ABSTRACT Susan Faludi’s feminist classic Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women was first published in 1991, thirty-one years ago, and yet its message seems to resonate more clearly than ever. The current issue focuses on present-day Europe and the last few decades, covering a very wide spectrum. There are surveys of countries or their crucial sectors (Bulgaria, Italy and France). The social media are dealt with in a separate essay and various subchapters. The literary works studied include Ali Smith’s Summer and verbatim theatre. Prominent examples are Angela Merkel’s 1993 review of Backlash and the Spanish Manada case. In conclusion, an intergenerational dialogue highlights recent controversies and tries to find pathways forward.Part I of the Introduction argues that one of today’s major aspects of the patriarchal backlashes against women remains rooted in biological, deterministic socio-political constructions of women’s bodies, which aim to deprive women of their agency as human beings. After a critical discussion of the backlash concept, Part II briefly characterises the structure of the issue and the individual articles.

Міжнародні правовідносини України та Європейського Союзу: переваги наближення законодавства та настанови для процесу прийняття рішень на місцевому рівні в умовах воєнного стану

The article focuses on the legal analysis of the basis of future reforms in the context of approximation of Ukrainian legislation to EU standards under conditions of martial law in Ukraine, global uncertainty and the development of the system of international military-political cooperation. The objective of the present study is to examine the moderating effect of international Ukraine-EU legal relationship., as well as to describe the directions of implementation of the provisions of EU regulations into Ukrainian legislation by reviewing and analyzing the legal regulation of Ukraine-EU relations. The study uses Ukraine and EU legislation the period between 2020 and 2022 to test benefits of legislative approximation and guidelines for domestic decision-making powers under martial law. The relationship between the regulations, implemented by EU, and the existing legal system of Ukraine is visible for Ukraine legal system in general, supporting the hypothesised moderating effect of international Ukraine-EU legal relationship under martial law. The article contributes to the development of the study of the issue of approximation of legislation by applying the existing concept of EU law. The relationship between the implemented EU legislation and the existing legal system. This study contributes to extant research by adopting the existing concept of EU law. The need to improve the institutional and legal sphere under the current conditions of the development of modern EU law is substantiated, which also determines the revision of theoretical provisions and the introduction of corrections and novelties in the conceptual system. In the context of martial law in Ukraine, the proposed idea is that the strategic line of cooperation between the EU and Ukraine should be further transformed taking into account the issues of compliance with EU legislation in order to ensure proper border crossing procedures for refugees from Ukraine and persons in need of asylum. The general conclusion of the study is to indicate the potential success factors of the implementation of the EU legislation and the problems of approximation of Ukrainian legislation to the EU legislation. Comparative multilevel analysis, documentary and literature review were performed, other methods were used, including synthesis and deduction. The argument of hypothesis that the difficulty of maintaining peace and stability in the development of the state in the direction of integration into the EU and NATO for Ukraine is determined by following challenges: legal characteristics of an undeclared war as an armed aggression of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine, the global pandemic COVID-19 pandemic, corresponding geopolitical changes on the world map followed by migration crisis, hybrid informational and armed challenges, etc. The general theoretical characteristics of the political dialogue on the level of the Ukraine-EU summits for 2020-2022 are outlined. The conclusion is made on the basis of comparative approach to further reform of the Constitution of Ukraine, taking into account the conclusions of working groups within the framework of projects and programs of cooperation between Ukraine and the EU. The article points to a number of problems that hinder the implementation of bilateral agreements and EU strategies, which are problematic today. The value of the analysis lies in the contextual reference to the development programs of the candidate countries for joining the European Union.

МОДЕЛЮВАННЯ ПРОЦЕСІВ ВИЯВЛЕННЯ ВИБУХОНЕБЕЗПЕЧНИХ ПРЕДМЕТІВ ІНДУКЦІЙНИМ МЕТОДОМ НА ОСНОВІ РЕЗУЛЬТАТІВ ЕКСПЕРИМЕНТАЛЬНИХ ДОСЛІДЖЕНЬ

With the beginning of the undeclared war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine in 2014, and the subsequent large-scale invasion in February 2022, the issue of reconnaissance and demining of the area from explosive devices both during the conduct of hostilities and in their absence became very acute. The experience of the war shows that the enemy, despite international conventions on the prohibition of certain types of mine weapons, uses its entire available arsenal of mines and improvised explosive devices, which are often set to non-removable. In addition to mines and improvised explosive devices, a large number of unexploded ordnance contaminates the territory of Ukraine, where hostilities are conducted or released. Analysis of the execution of reconnaissance and demining tasks by the engineering units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine shows that the main method today remains manual, which is extremely dangerous for the lives of personnel. In order to ensure the fulfillment of these tasks, work is underway to create domestic means of remote reconnaissance and demining. One of the components of such means are search 27 elements for explosive objects that work on different physical principles. In addition to theoretical provisions, one of its important stages is conducting an experimental study. In the article, based on previously developed theoretical provisions, the modeling of the processes of detecting explosive objects by the induction method during a one-factor experiment is carried out with the aim of substantiating individual indicators of the effectiveness of elements of the search for explosive objects of remote-controlled demining complexes.

Hybrid Peace: Ethnographies of War

The article observes the latest ethnographic research on modern warfare, which sheds light on interconnected internal security regimes, military invasions abroad, and so-called hybrid or rhizomatic warfare. The paper critiques two analytical categories: notions of hybrid warfare and the “state of exception” (Giorgio Agamben). Hybridity in the context of modern warfare is generally used to describe the enemy or threat, rather than self-description. The author of the article proposes the notion of “hybrid peace” in the dual meaning of peace as space and peace as the opposite of the state of war. This notion points to the ontological uncertainty of the world at the beginning of the 21 st century as a state of undeclared wars, and this state of uncertainty is no longer a “state of exception.” The new normality of the hybrid world is examined in terms of those zones where the use of military force is possible and military violence is justified, and those where it is not. Examples of the study of such military interventions include works on drone warfare in the Middle East, the extraterritoriality of garrisons and guerrilla movements in Central and West Africa, and the rhizomatic operations of the Israel Defense Forces. To understand these and many other cases, the author finds productive the notion of Carl Schmitt’s “nomos of the Earth” and his “theory of the guerrilla.”

КООРДИНАЦІЯ ДІЙ США ТА ЄВРОПИ ЩОДО ПІДТРИМКИ УКРАЇНИ, ОНОВЛЕННЯ АЛЬЯНСУ ТА ЗАХИСТУ ЄВРОПЕЙСЬКИХ ЦІННОСТЕЙ

The purpose of the article is to research a new stage of improving the coordination of efforts and deepening U.S.-European cooperation aimed at further strengthening transatlantic security and supporting Ukraine in the struggle for its sovereignty. The current study considers the grounds and escalation of the current Russian aggression against Ukraine; the impact of the undeclared war against Ukraine on the United States and the European community; American and European support to Ukraine, including military assistance; reasons and steps to renew the transatlantic alliance; the struggle of Ukraine for its independence and sovereignty as well as the protection of Europe and its democratic values. The methodological basis of the study is a set of general and special research methods. The system method made it possible to consider the renewal of the transatlantic alliance and the strengthening of coordination between the United States and European countries as a systemic process. In particular, the strengthening of American-European cooperation is considered as a response to the Russian-Ukrainian policy since 2014 and the escalation of armed aggression against Ukraine that is a unique state of the European geopolitical space and a powerful champion of European and universal values. Also, improving coordination between transatlantic partners is studied through the prism of comprehensive assistance to Ukraine in its struggle for sovereignty. Moreover, the prospects of strengthening mutual coordination in the transatlantic space are considered in the institutional and legal planes. The comparative method helped to analyze the volume and effectiveness of aid to Ukraine from the United States and European countries and to consider the dynamics of the renewal of the transatlantic partnership. The objective research was based on statistical methods and event data analysis, which made it possible to consider how current events in Ukraine affected the international political situation. Finally, the historical method was applied to investigate the cause-and-effect relationships of events, as well as to determine the role of Ukraine in European civilizational processes. With the help of the historical method, it has been proved that during centuries Ukraine was, is, and remains the most important structural link of European civilization. The scientific novelty consists in an attempt to comprehensively study the ongoing cooperation between the United States and European countries under the influence of the escalation of Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine. This issue is considered through the prospect of Ukraine’s unique historical role in the defense of European civilization and general democratic values. The authors conclude that it was the armed aggression against Ukraine that contributed to the renewal of the transatlantic partnership. Currently, the United States and European partners have coordinated their efforts around assisting Ukraine and finding effective ways to restructure the transatlantic security system. It becomes obvious that Ukraine is a historically unique state on the territory of Europe, and its victory in the struggle for its sovereignty is a guarantee of a peaceful and safe future of the entire transatlantic space.

Bezpieczeństwo II Rzeczpospolitej – oceny. 1 wrzesień 1939 r. – „niespodziewana” wojna z III Rzeszą i „zaskoczenie” agresją (17) Związku Sowieckiego

The Wehrmacht (German armed forces) attacked Poland without declaration of war on 1 September 1939, on the orders of the leader of the III Reich. Then, on 17 September, the Red Army forced the borders of the Polish II Republic. The title of the article reflects what Polish historiography will forever struggle with – whether the aggression by its western neighbour was “unexpected” and whether we can consider the invasion from its eastern neighbour a “surprise”. Above all, the question is whether the military (General Staff; military intelligence) and political leadership (Foreign Ministry) of the state foresaw beforehand the possibility of rift in Polish-German relations and the renewal of a German-Soviet alliance/pact (cooperation), which in consequence brought about undeclared war with Poland’s eastern neighbour. The presented article is in sections and presented in chronological order.