On 18 March, the third phase of the “U-LEAD with Europe” programme was presented in Kyiv. As part of the event, Deputy Minister for Development of Communities and Territories Oleksii Riabykin took part in the panel discussion “Local Recovery and Development: Ways Forward”. Together with Oleksandr Slobozhan, Executive Director of the Association of Ukrainian Cities, and Yurii Fomichev, Mayor of Slavutych, he discussed the challenges and prospects of recovery of Ukrainian regions.
Oleksii Riabykin emphasised that Ukraine’s recovery is taking place amid the challenges of war, which require clear coordination and a strategic vision. It is important that this process is not only fast but also systematic and focused on long-term development.
“Ukraine is the only country carrying out recovery during a large-scale war. At the same time, we cannot act chaotically. Planning is a key element of recovery. That is why it is important to understand in advance what we are doing, when we are doing it and how much funding it requires. We are now in the process of strategic planning: updating state regional development strategies and helping communities approve their own strategies,” the Deputy Minister noted.
The participants also discussed recovery financing in 2025. Oleksii Riabykin noted that the third stage of the Ukraine Recovery Programme, for which projects are currently being selected, provides EUR 100 million for community initiatives. Another EUR 150 million is expected to be allocated to the next stage of the programme. In addition, a further EUR 200 million may be directed to social projects.
“There is the issue of the frozen assets of the aggressor state — we are working to make them a source of recovery financing. At the same time, it is important to have a clear understanding of the budget in order to be transparent both for international partners and for citizens. When we talk about prioritisation, planning and public investment management reform, we must remember that this applies not only to the national level but also to the local level,” Oleksii Riabykin stressed.
The Ministry for Development is working on the procedure for using the funds of the State Regional Development Fund, restored in 2020. This concerns more than UAH 30 billion to support regional projects. The public investment management reform is also under way, which will allow funds to be distributed more efficiently and will contribute to the faster recovery of affected regions.
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