In 2014-2020, Ukraine introduced a reform aimed at creating capable municipalities with a high level of institutional and financial autonomy. This turned out to be a huge achievement and a resource that allowed the local self-government bodies of municipalities to solve extremely difficult tasks and organise their local territorial defence.

This was stated by Viacheslav Nehoda, Deputy Minister for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine, at the 16th meeting of the European Committee for Democracy and Governance (CDDG).

However, according to him, the military aggression had a significant impact on the capabilities of local authorities that faced new challenges and priorities triggered by the war.

At the same time, he stressed that supporting the functioning of local self-government under martial law was a priority state policy of the central government. Since the full-scale started on February 24, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Government adopted a number of important decisions to ensure the capacity of local self-government bodies, organisation of territorial defence, protection of public safety, assistance to internally displaced citizens and functioning of the public sector, utility companies under martial law.

“It should be emphasised that the decisions of the Parliament and the Government did not limit the powers of local self-government bodies but were aimed at strengthening their ability to respond to the challenges of war. In addition, the Government and the Parliament are continuously working to centrally help local self-governments to solve complex tasks to sustain the municipalities in wartime. These tasks include the financing of social benefits and other expenditures in conditions when the economy of the municipality does not work as it used to before the war; prompt assessment of material damages and allocation of budget funds for reconstruction in the liberated territories; provision of social support for millions of internally displaced persons,” said the Deputy Minister.

He also pointed out that the terrorist state of Russia, in violation of international humanitarian law and human rights, was trying to destroy Ukrainian energy systems, wreak havoc on the critical infrastructure of cities and towns to leave tens of millions of Ukrainians without electricity, heating, running water and communication.

“These are huge challenges for local self-government. However, all authorities, businesses and volunteers work around the clock, in spite of the never-ending missile attacks of the aggressor, to overcome these challenges and ensure living conditions in cities and towns. In wartime, the entire vertical of state power and the system of local self-government bodies are operating as reformatted and adapted to the conditions of martial law,” Viacheslav Nehoda added.

He also underlined the key importance of comprehensive support of international partners, primarily the Council of Europe, for the continuation and completion of decentralisation in Ukraine in the aftermath of the armed invasion of Russia to implement comprehensive measures to improve local self-government laws and practices provided for in the Plan for the Recovery of Ukraine from the War.

“Here I would like to point out the importance of further continuous support to Ukraine as part of the instrument of cooperation between Ukraine and the Council of Europe, namely the next Action Plan of the Council of Europe for Ukraine. We hope that it will be agreed upon as soon as possible and, therefore, the practice of successful cooperation will be continued, including in the context of the implementation of the Council of Europe Project “Enhancing Decentralisation and Reform of Public Administration in Ukraine”.

According to the Deputy Minister, a joint document is to be published in the near future based on the outcomes of the high-level multilateral dialogue “Good Democratic Governance in Ukraine: achievements, challenges and the way forward in the post-war period” held in Strasbourg in early November 2022, which will outline in more detail the vector of the joint movement with the Council of Europe in the direction of the development of local self-government and the establishment of local democracy in Ukraine on the basis of the European Charter of Local Self-Government.