THE ROLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN ENSURING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT UNDER GLOBAL CHALLENGES

The article presents a comprehensive theoretical analysis of the key factors shaping the transformation of Ukraine's higher education system amid Russia's full-scale military aggression and within the broader framework of the European strategy for sustainable development.It is emphasized that the war has generated profound demographic, environmental, and ecological losses, simultaneously undermining the fundamental principles of global sustainable development and creating unprecedented challenges for the functioning of the educational and research sectors.Under these circumstances, higher education gains strategic importance as a crucial instrument for national recovery, human capital development, innovation generation, and strengthening the country's socio-economic resilience.The study synthesizes contemporary Ukrainian and international scholarly approaches to integrating sustainable development principles into higher education and identifies scientifically grounded directions for the modernization of the educational landscape.A detailed analysis of the Strategy for the Development of Higher Education in Ukraine for 2022-2032 is provided, explaining the logic and relevance of its five strategic goals for post-war reconstruction, quality assurance enhancement, institutional capacity building, and deepening international integration.Special attention is given to issues of financial sustainability of universities, the improvement of internal and external quality assurance systems, the expansion of institutional autonomy, the digitalization of educational processes, and the implementation of European ESG standards.The article also highlights the growing importance of strengthening academic integrity, supporting student self-governance, and modernizing regulatory frameworks to align the Ukrainian higher education system with European practices.The findings contribute to a deeper theoretical understanding of the ongoing transformations in Ukrainian higher education and outline promising directions for its further development under wartime conditions, global uncertainty, and Ukraine's active movement toward European integration.