Preparation of Critical Infrastructure Facilities for Protection Against the Armed Forces of the Aggressor State

Abstract

Purpose. The purpose of the study is to analyze the factors influencing the preparation of critical infrastructure facilities for defense and their protection during the adversary’s offensive operations, to develop proposals for improving the protection of critical infrastructure facilities, and to determine the role of central and local public authorities in this process.

Method. The study employs a set of general scientific and specialized methods, including analysis and synthesis of regulatory and legal acts in the field of national security and critical infrastructure protection; logical-structural and comparative analysis to develop and compare protection models; a systems approach to assess the role of critical infrastructure in ensuring state resilience; and the generalization of practical experience to formulate applied recommendations for preparing facilities and territories for defense under martial law.

Findings. The study identifies the main threats to critical infrastructure facilities under conditions of armed aggression, reveals shortcomings in the existing protection system in both peacetime and wartime, and substantiates the need to establish an effective coordination hierarchy. The roles of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the National Guard of Ukraine, and public authorities in ensuring the protection of critical infrastructure facilities are defined, and practical measures for preparing facilities and territories for defense, including the involvement of resistance movement forces, are proposed.

Theoretical implications. The theoretical contribution of the study lies in deepening scholarly understanding of critical infrastructure protection as a component of national security and defense planning in conditions of armed conflict, as well as in advancing military science perspectives on asymmetric forms of warfare and state resilience during martial law.

Practical implications. The practical implications of the study consist in the applicability of its findings for public authorities and military command bodies in improving the regulatory framework for critical infrastructure protection, in defense and mobilization planning, in organizing the defense of facilities and territories, and in the training of officers and specialists of Ukraine’s security and defense sector.

Type of article: theoretical.