The Impact of Russia’s Military Aggression on Ukraine’s Accession to the Single European Transport Area

Abstract

The events of recent years and the direct aggression of the Russian Federation have forced Ukraine to reformat the transport system on a large scale and intensify the accession to the Single European Transport Area (SETA). The aim of this study was to substantiate the thesis that the integration of Ukraine's transport system under the influence of Russia's military aggression is in line with its national interests. The study involved the methods of systems analysis, epistemological, dialectical and statistical methods, comparative law and the method of legal modeling. Definitely, SETA is based on the principles of unity, environmental friendliness, safety, economy, energy saving, branching and digital modernization. It is concluded that the legal framework for Ukraine's accession to SETA was established with the signing of the Agreement between Ukraine, on the one hand, and the European Union, the European Atomic Energy Community and its member states, on the other hand, in 2014. However, Russia's military aggression against Ukraine has significantly delayed the implementation of the SETA accession plan due to the destruction of many transport infrastructure facilities and economic recession, among other factors.