SMART LOGISTICS HUBS AS A STRATEGIC TOOL FOR THE RECOVERY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF UKRAINE'S TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE
Abstract
The large-scale armed aggression of the Russian Federation has caused
unprecedented damage to Ukraine's transport infrastructure. According to the fifth Rapid Damage
and Needs Assessment released in February 2026, the country's ten-year recovery requirement
approaches USD 588 billion, with more than USD 96 billion attributed to transport. Restoring
destroyed assets in their former technological configuration would reproduce structural weaknesses
and postpone digital modernization. The article therefore considers Smart Logistics Hubs as an
instrument for combining physical reconstruction, multimodal connectivity, digital interoperability,
security requirements, and sustainability principles within a single recovery framework.
The purpose of the article is to substantiate the strategic role of Smart Logistics Hubs in the
recovery and sustainable development of Ukraine's transport infrastructure and to develop a
conceptual model and an organizational-economic mechanism for their implementation under
wartime and post-war constraints. The study addresses the distinction between a Smart Logistics
Hub and related categories, the transferability of European practices to Ukraine, the relationship
between physical and digital modernization, alternative implementation scenarios, and the
institutional, financial, human-resource, and security risks that may affect a pilot project.
The methodology combines a systems approach, comparative case analysis, scenario analysis,
and SWOT analysis. The evidence base includes peer-reviewed publications and official materials
issued mainly in 2020–2026 by the European Commission, the World Bank, public authorities, and
logistics-infrastructure operators. Three European cases—the Port of Duisburg, the Port of
Rotterdam, and Euroterminal Sławków—are compared using common criteria: modal integration,
core digital instrument, scale, and potential relevance to Ukrainian conditions. The Ukrainian
context is examined against RDNA5 data and the extension of the Trans-European Transport
Network corridors. The conceptual framework is organized around four connected levels: physical
infrastructure, a digital layer, a management circuit, and performance indicators. Its
implementation is considered through initiation, institutional design, financing, physical and digital
deployment, and performance monitoring with feedback to subsequent project cycles.
The discussion focuses on how synchronized reconstruction and digitalization can improve
throughput, reduce logistics costs, strengthen resilience, and align investment decisions with ESG
principles and European co-financing instruments. The proposed framework may be used in
regional recovery strategies, modernization programmes, logistics-network planning, and the
prioritization of projects seeking international support. Further research should empirically test the
model at a specific pilot hub and refine the scenario parameters using operational data collected
during implementation.
Keywords: Smart Logistics Hubs, transport infrastructure, post-war recovery, sustainable
development, multimodal transportation, logistics digitalization, strategic management.
References
1. Arnold, T., Frost, M., Timmis, A., Dale, S., & Ison, S. (2023). Mobility hubs: Review and
future research direction. Transportation Research Record, 2677(2), 858–868.
https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981221108977
2. Brunetti, M., Mes, M., & Lalla-Ruiz, E. (2024). Smart logistics nodes: Concept and
classification. International Journal of Logistics Research and Applications, 27(11), 1984–2020.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13675567.2024.2327394
3. Dmytriieva, O. I. (2020). Derzhavne rehuliuvannia innovatsiinoho rozvytku transportnoi
infrastruktury [State regulation of innovative development of transport infrastructure] (Doctoral
dissertation, Ukrainian State University of Railway Transport). https://kart.edu.ua/wpcontent/uploads/2020/11/dmytriieva_dis.pdf (in Ukrainian).
4. Dmytriieva, O. I. (2020). Multymodalni perevezennia yak kliuchovyi aspekt rozvytku
transportnoho potentsialu Ukrainy [Multimodal transportation as a key aspect of Ukraine's transport
potential]. Internauka. Seriia: Ekonomichni nauky, 5(37), 2, 86–93. https://www.internauka.com/ua/issues/economic2020/5/5996 (in Ukrainian).
5. Dmytriieva, O. I. (2020). National innovative HUB as a system of state regulation of
innovative development of transport infrastructure. Management, 1(31), 38–48.
https://jrnl.knutd.edu.ua/index.php/mng/article/view/591
6. Dmytriieva, O. I. (2026). ESG-oriientovanyi rozvytok transportnoi infrastruktury na osnovi
derzhavno-pryvatnoho partnerstva v umovakh pisliavoiennoho vidnovlennia Ukrainy [ESGoriented development of transport infrastructure based on public-private partnership in Ukraine's
post-war recovery]. Problemy i perspektyvy rozvytku pidpryiemnytstva, 1(36), 27–45 (in Ukrainian).
7. Dmytriieva, O. I., & Kushch, A. A. (2025). Yevropeiskyi prostir danykh mobilnosti (EMDS) i
natsionalnyi prostir danykh: Model implementatsii ta pravovi vymohy [European Mobility Data
Space (EMDS) and the national data space: Implementation model and legal requirements].
Problemy i perspektyvy rozvytku pidpryiemnytstva, 2(35), 15–23 (in Ukrainian).
8. Dmytriieva, O. I., & Presych, D. I. (2025). Analityka Big Data dlia KPI transportnykh merezh:
Metody zboru, ochyshchennia, vizualizatsii ta governance [Big Data analytics for transport-network
KPIs: Collection, cleaning, visualization, and governance]. Problemy i perspektyvy rozvytku
pidpryiemnytstva, 2(35), 63–76 (in Ukrainian).
9. Dmytriieva, O. I., & Riazanov, R. S. (2026). Vprovadzhennia ESG-pidkhodiv u diialnist
transportnykh pidpryiemstv Ukrainy yak instrument pisliavoiennoho vidnovlennia ta
pidvyshchennia yikh ekonomichnoi stiikosti [Implementation of ESG approaches in Ukrainian
transport enterprises as a tool for post-war recovery and economic resilience]. Ekonomika ta
suspilstvo, 85. https://doi.org/10.32782/2524-0072/2026-85-133 (in Ukrainian).
10. European Commission. (n.d.). Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T): Revised
regulation on the extension of four European Transport Corridors to Ukraine.
https://transport.ec.europa.eu/ukraine/eu-ukraine-solidarity-lanes/eu-funding-better-transportconnections_en
11. Fahlbusch, J., Fischer, F., Gegner, M., Grahle, A., & Tasche, L. (2025). Towards a concept
for a multifunctional mobility hub: Combining multimodal services, urban logistics, and energy.
Logistics, 9(3), Article 92. https://doi.org/10.3390/logistics9030092
12. International Trade Administration. (n.d.). Ukraine—Reconstruction and infrastructure. U.S.
Department of Commerce. https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/ukrainereconstruction-and-infrastructure
13. Khozhylo, I., Lipovska, N., Chernysh, O., Antonova, O., Diegtiar, O., & Dmytriieva, O.
(2022). Implementation of smart-city tools as a response to challenges in the socio-humanitarian
field in Ukrainian metropolises. Acta Logistica, 9(1), 23–30. https://doi.org/10.22306/al.v9i1.262
14. Korotkyi, B., & Boniar, S. (2025). Perebudova lohistychnykh lantsiuhiv v Ukraini: Novi
vyklyky ta mozhlyvosti [Restructuring logistics chains in Ukraine: New challenges and
opportunities]. Grail of Science, 58, 558–565. https://doi.org/10.36074/grail-ofscience.14.11.2025.064 (in Ukrainian).
15. PKP CARGO INTERNATIONAL. (2025, May 27). Prime Minister Donald Tusk at
Euroterminal Sławków—Agreement signed for expansion of the facility.
https://www.pkpcargointernational.com/en/news/prime-minister-donald-tusk-at-euroterminalslawkow-agreement-signed-for-expansion-of-the-facility
16. Pohrebnyi, V. (2024). Upravlinnia lohistychnymy protsesamy u transportnii sferi
[Management of logistics processes in the transport sector]. Ekonomika ta suspilstvo, 63.
https://doi.org/10.32782/2524-0072/2024-63-87 (in Ukrainian).
17. Port of Rotterdam Authority. (n.d.). Smart infrastructure—Digital twin programme.
https://www.portofrotterdam.com/en/port-future/smart-infrastructure
18. Transforming Transport. (n.d.). Duisport inland port pilot. EU Big Data Value PPP.
https://www.big-data-value.eu/pilot/transforming-transport-ports-duisport/
19. Ukrainian Government Portal for European Integration. (2025, June 24). Ukraine launches
EU screening on transport policy and Trans-European Networks. https://euua.kmu.gov.ua/en/news/ukraine-launches-eu-screening-on-transport-policy-and-trans-europeannetworks/
20. Weustenenk, A. G., & Mingardo, G. (2023). Towards a typology of mobility hubs. Journal
of Transport Geography, 106, Article 103514. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2022.103514
21. World Bank Group, Government of Ukraine, European Commission, & United Nations.
(2026, February 23). Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA5).
https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2026/02/23/updated-ukraine-recovery-andreconstruction-needs-assessment-released
