Hostilities in eastern Ukraine have highlighted the need for accelerated transformation of Ukrainian armed forces and strengthening country’s defense capabilities. Ukraine is an active consumer and exporter of weapons, so it needs to improve constantly its position in the international arms market, which, by the way, unlike most markets suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic, is constantly growing. The study aims to assess the prospects of Ukraine’s integration into the world arms market to secure its armed forces and achieve the highest possible level of arms exports. Methods of comparative analysis and integrated approach were used in the study. The obtained results demonstrated that Ukrainian arms export has fallen dramatically in recent years (from 1501 million USD in 2012 to 115 million USD in 2020); the largest importers were China (36% of Ukraine’s total arms exports), Russia (20%), and Thailand (17%). The main explanation for this is the necessity of transition to more technological weapons. Concerning weapon imports, Turkey, the USA, Great Britain, Poland, and Bulgaria became the main suppliers. It is about ammunition, electronics, including electronic warfare stations, means of communication, sniper rifles, grenade launchers, etc. The study substantiated that Ukraine should implement joint projects with other countries to fully develop its high-tech weapons in accordance with the latest military technologies.

The article examines the role of state institutions in the development of international educational tourism. It is wellfounded that most of the countries of the European Union have their own system for encouraging foreign students to study in their country. The available tools for the popularization of educational tourism in the countries of the European Union are systematized. Measures and policies to support the educational sphere in terms of easing requirements during the preparation and submission of documents for foreigners wishing to study in EU countries were considered. It was found that initiatives aimed at the development of educational tourism in the countries of the European Union are coordinated centrally at the national level. For this purpose, almost every country creates centers at embassies abroad, the purpose of which is to promote higher education and the mobility of foreign students and researchers to national universities, as well as to encourage academic cooperation with other foreign countries. Prospective students who wish to apply to one of the participating German universities can first send their documents to uni-Assist. The Lisbon City Council has developed a project that aims to provide an information space and offers housing initiatives for international students who want to study in Lisbon. Commissioned by the Dutch government, education support offices have been established in various third countries and occupy a strategic position in Dutch higher education in these countries. The official web portal of the Greek state provides information and support on studying and living in Greece. The Campus France agency is tasked with promoting French higher education abroad and recruiting foreign students and researchers in France. Every year, the agency organizes a series of events around the world to promote French higher education. Family reunification and family support practices are introduced. the possibility for international students to bring their family members to the country where they are studying can also help make the study opportunity more attractive. The necessity of forming and implementing state programs to attract foreign students for the purpose of obtaining education in Ukraine has been proven, which in turn will provide an opportunity to raise the level of national competitiveness.

The recent return to violence across Israel, the West Bank and Gaza is harrowing, but sadly predictable. It comes on the heels of two events that underscore the desperate nature of the political landscape between Israel and the Palestinians, which is devoid of any prospects for a negotiated settlement. The devastation wrought by the attacks on Gaza over the summer of 2014, the first of these events, is still visible throughout the Strip. It evokes both the destructive consequences of Israel's military campaign and the crippling blockade that persists in its wake. The second event-the May 2015 re-election of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu-formalised a consensus in Israel against any diplomatic initiative to decide on the fate of the Palestinians. Against the backdrop to the current unrest, this report assesses the implications of these earlier events through six weeks of fieldwork in Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Utilising interviews with a cross-section of Palestinian and Israeli politicians, cultural figures, leaders of civil society, journalists, and academics, this study offers a broad diagnostic of the unfolding situation. These discussions underscored how cyclical violence in Israel and the occupied territories is symptomatic of entrenched conflict management, a strategy that has led to a coarsening of Israeli politics and the fragmentation of the Palestinian populace. A rights-based approach to the Palestinian struggle may offer one way to overcome this stasis, as could other policies that impose a financial and moral cost on the occupation.