Protection of critical infrastructure as a component of Ukraine’s national security

The relevance of the subject under study is conditioned upon the scientific originality and practical significance of the problematic aspects of the protection of critical infrastructure as a component of the national security of Ukraine, specifically, regarding the creation and functioning of the national system of its protection. Given the fact that the term “critical infrastructure” is relatively new for Ukrainian legislation, a comprehensive list of objects included in its system has not yet been formed, and the optimal algorithms for ensuring their security have not been determined. The purpose of this study was a comprehensive investigation of Ukrainian legislation in the field of national security, which determines the legal and organizational foundations of the creation and functioning of the national critical infrastructure protection system, as well as obtaining scientific results in the form of conclusions aimed at optimizing the implementation of critical infrastructure protection. The methodological tools of the study included the hermeneutic method of learning social and legal phenomena, analytical, dogmatic, and generalization method. Considering the European integration processes of Ukraine, scientifically sound proposals were provided to improve the national legislation in the field of critical infrastructure protection according to international legal acts that govern issues of safety and protection of critical infrastructure objects. The term “critical infrastructure” was studied, the state of scientific developments regarding its protection was analysed, the algorithm of actions to ensure its security was analysed and determined, factoring in the Ukrainian political and military situation in the state