Deputy Prime Minister for the Restoration of Ukraine – Minister of Community and Territorial Development Oleksiy Kuleba met with Mr. Min Zhang, Global Director of the World Bank’s Urban Development, Sustainability and Land Resources Department.
The meeting was held as part of the World Bank’s mission dedicated to the development of joint projects in the field of housing policy, in particular the implementation of the HOPE initiative and the launch of new programmes.
Oleksiy Kuleba thanked the partners for their long-term and systematic support of Ukraine. Today, the joint HOPE project – ‘Housing Repair for the Restoration of People’s Rights and Opportunities’ – is one of the key elements of the government’s policy in the field of housing stock restoration.
“HOPE has become a tool that allows us to provide assistance quickly, transparently and on a national scale. Today, we are talking about expanding this project and preparing new solutions. We are talking about a new support programme for internally displaced persons from temporarily occupied territories. It should give people the opportunity to purchase housing to replace what they lost in the temporarily occupied territories. This is about justice and state responsibility,” said Oleksiy Kuleba.
Thanks to this project, more than 94,000 Ukrainian families have already received compensation for the restoration of damaged housing through the e-Restoration mechanism. In May, the World Bank and the Ministry of Development signed an agreement on additional funding in the amount of $84 million, which will provide support to another 25,000 families.
The ministry has also begun preparations for a new phase – capital reconstruction. In April, a list of 194 apartment buildings in five territorial communities was approved for restoration under the HOPE project. To start construction work in the first quarter of 2026, the issue of attracting an additional $185 million is being considered. The relevant proposals have already been submitted to the World Bank.
A separate topic of discussion was the Ministry of Development’s new initiative to provide housing support for internally displaced persons from temporarily occupied territories. The programme provides for the issuance of housing vouchers that can be used to purchase housing, make a down payment on a mortgage, or repay a mortgage loan. Assistance will be provided in stages: first to combatants and families of deceased defenders, then to people with disabilities, large families and orphaned children, and finally to other categories of IDPs.
The following topics were also discussed during the meeting:
- Preparation for attracting EU funding: a guarantee agreement between the European Commission and the World Bank is expected to be signed, which will allow €215 million to be attracted within the Ukraine-EU Investment Framework (UIF) to expand the e-Recovery programme.
- Development of digital infrastructure: Ukraine has initiated the mobilisation of USD 10 million for the development of an urban planning cadastre – a digital foundation for the implementation of key recovery programmes, spatial planning and the introduction of BIM technologies.
- Housing policy strategy: a working group has been set up and has already held its first inaugural meeting. The Ministry of Development is counting on the World Bank’s expert participation in the development of this strategic document.
- Together with Mr. Min Zhang, experts in finance, urban development and infrastructure from Austria, the United States, France, Georgia and Australia arrived in Ukraine as part of the World Bank mission.
The Ministry of Development team was represented by First Deputy Minister of Community and Territorial Development Alona Shkrum, as well as Deputy Ministers of Community and Territorial Development Nataliia Kozlovska and Maryna Denysiuk.
For reference: The HOPE project is being implemented with the support of the World Bank (acting as administrator of the Multi-Donor Trust Fund for Support, Recovery, Reconstruction and Reform in Ukraine) to provide Ukrainians with compensation for damaged housing. It is part of the Government’s systemic policy in the field of housing restoration and is integrated into the e-Restoration programme.
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