TRANSFORMATION OF THE ROLE OF RAILWAY TRANSPORT IN UKRAINE’S GRAIN EXPORT LOGISTICS IN 2025

The full-scale war in Ukraine has significantly reshaped the economic foundations of grain export logistics and altered the relative roles of transport modes. In 2022–2023, railway transport played a leading role in grain exports under conditions of restricted maritime shipping, acting as a compensatory mechanism within export supply chains. However, the gradual recovery of seaport operations and the stabilization of the Ukrainian Maritime Corridor in 2023–2024 led to a reassessment of the economic feasibility of different transport routes by 2025. This article examines changes in the logistics of grain transportation by railway transport in Ukraine in 2025 compared to 2022–2024 from an economic perspective. The analysis focuses on transport volumes, cost structures, competitiveness of transport modes, and the efficiency of logistics chains. The study is based on official statistics of Ukrainian Railways, international analytical reports, and government data. The results indicate that in 2025 railway transport ceased to function as an independent export channel and transformed into a port-integrated component of a multimodal logistics system oriented toward maritime transport. The decline in railway grain transportation in 2025 is shown to be structural rather than cyclical. It was driven by lower unit costs and higher capacity of maritime transport, changes in tariff competitiveness, operational inefficiencies related to wagon turnover and port congestion, and persistent security risks affecting transport infrastructure. The findings demonstrate that under wartime conditions the economic role of railway transport should be evaluated not by export volumes but by its contribution to cost minimization, reliability, and resilience of grain supply chains. The results provide practical implications for transport policy and railway management, highlighting the need to shift from volume-based planning toward efficiency-oriented and port-integrated logistics solutions in a prolonged environment of economic and security uncertainty