Contemporary challenges and threats to the innovative development of Ukraine’s regions economy

The article focuses on the fact that the full-scale war has become a powerful challenge for the development and functioning of the Ukrainian innovation system, which has led to a further decline in the level of innovation activity and technological efficiency of industrial enterprises. The main focus is on the study of contemporary challenges and threats to the innovative development of Ukraine's regions, which have significantly intensified since the start of Russia's large-scale invasion. An analysis of the dynamics of changes in Ukraine's international ratings during 2014-2023 was carried out based on a series of innovation capacity indices, namely the Global Innovation Index, the European Innovation Scoreboard, and the Global Talent Competitiveness Index. Changes in Ukraine's position in the Global Startup Ecosystem Index during 2022-2024 were analyzed. In addition, changes in the startup opportunity indices of Ukraine's regions were analyzed. The results of the analysis show a negative trend of significant loss of position by Ukrainian cities since the start of the large-scale invasion. Considerable attention is paid to the problem of the low level of implementation of domestic developers' own innovative technologies and inventions and the low level of funding for scientific research and design development, which has significantly worsened with the start of the large-scale invasion. The key reasons for the decline in innovation funding in Ukraine during the war are identified. The article also focuses on the difficulty of accessing modern foreign technologies, which is a significant challenge for Ukraine's technological and economic development, especially in wartime. Overall, it is noted that the innovative development of Ukraine's regions during the war is hampered by a number of challenges and threats that create additional difficulties for stimulating economic development and technological change. At the same time, it is emphasized that although the current challenges and threats to the innovative development of Ukraine's regions during the war are significant, with the right management approach and support, their impact can be minimized and new opportunities for innovation development can be found that will contribute to increasing economic productivity.