- Sumy and Kharkiv Oblasts — aid will reach 29 municipalities
- Dnipro Oblast — ten municipalities will receive assistance
- Kyiv and Chernihiv Oblasts — seven municipalities from two oblasts have already received aid
- Mykolaiv Oblast — 12 municipalities
The U-LEAD with Europe Programme, together with the Ministry for the Restoration and with the financial support of the Government of Germany, is implementing the initiative “Strengthening Local Resilience. Support for Emergency Repairs in Municipalities”. Its first stage is providing municipalities with vehicles. Under the second stage, tools necessary for recovery will be provided.
Since October 2023, the U-LEAD with Europe Programme, together with the Ministry for the Restoration with the financial support of the German government, has been implementing the initiative “Strengthening Local Resilience. Support for Emergency Repairs in Municipalities”. Its first stage is providing municipalities with vehicles. Under the second stage, tools necessary for recovery will be provided. Thanks to the project, 100 war-affected municipalities will receive vehicles, as well as tool kits consisting of 16 items, including two generators, two LED floodlights, one concrete mixer, chainsaws, hammer drills, impact drivers, angle drivers, a motor grinder or electric drill.
Sumy and Kharkiv Oblasts — aid will reach 29 municipalities
12 municipalities of the Sumy Oblast and 17 municipalities of the Kharkiv Oblast.
According to Maryna Lobova, Head of the Regional Office of U-LEAD, the first stage of the aid in Sumy Oblast has already been received by the municipalities of Velyka Pysarivka, Trostianets, Okhtyrka and Svesa:
“We are pleased that municipalities of the Sumy Oblast will receive this aid from U-LEAD. As for other municipalities, which we are not naming due to security issues, they will also receive vehicles that will hopefully be helpful in ensuring their livelihoods at these difficult times.”
The Okhtyrka urban municipality announced on its official Facebook page about the delivery of a Citroën truck to Okhtyrka:
“Such help from our international partners is very important for our municipality and its residents. In the future, we will determine directions for the development of further cooperation with our EU partners,” Pavlo Kuzmenko, Mayor of Okhtyrka, is quoted as saying in the publication.
A vehicle was also provided to Trostianets. In a statement of the Trostianets City Council on the official Facebook page, the head of the municipality, Yurii Bova, is quoted as saying:
“The new vehicle will be used for the needs of utility workers. The vehicle is roomy and a perfect fit for transporting workers and special equipment for production tasks. After the occupation, Trostianets Housing and Operation Administration — our utility company — was left without a single transport unit. So we might hand this vehicle over to this company. The decision on allocation will be made by the executive committee.”
In addition, the mayor of Trostianets, on behalf of all residents of the municipality, thanked the U-LEAD Programme for an effective partnership and caring position, as well as for offering a helping hand in a time of need.
The municipalities of Derhachi, Donetsk, Zolochiv, Savyntsi, Oskil and Shevchenkove received help in the Kharkiv Oblast. This was stated by Oksana Cherkas, Head of the local Regional Office:
“Other municipalities of the region that participate in this initiative will also soon receive vehicles and tools that they can use to rebuild life in their areas. It is important for us that in these trying times for the country, U-LEAD can provide municipalities with the necessary support.”
Upon receiving the first part of the aid, Donetsk village head Anatolii Nazdrachov commented:
“We received a Fiat bus, which we plan to use for various purposes: transporting construction workers to localities affected by shelling, organising trips to the blood centre and using the bus as a social service. This will speed up the restoration of municipal property that was damaged as a result of Russia’s armed aggression and will improve the quality of services for municipality residents. Many thanks to U-LEAD for this support.”
On its official website, the Shevchenkove municipality extends its gratitude to international donors for their support and help and reports: “The municipality received a Citroën wagon designed for 7 passenger seats and equipped with a body for transporting goods. It will be allocated to the Department of Housing and Communal Services, Infrastructure Development and Public Amenities for the provision of public amenities.”
According to Oksana Suprun, Head of the Savyntsi Military Administration, the Citroën wagon received from U-LEAD will be used by the Savynske Housing and Utility Service.
Dnipro Oblast — ten municipalities will receive assistance
Four municipalities have already received buses. The urban municipality of Marganets reported about receiving it on its page:
“Thanks to this necessary transport, we are now able to respond more promptly to the calls of people whose homes were damaged as a result of Russia’s armed aggression. The minibus is used for trips by specialised commissions of the major construction administration and housing and municipal services that operate in places of enemy airstrikes and shelling and conduct inspections of damaged buildings and premises.”
Anatolii Zaitsev, head of the Malomykhailivka municipality, stated in his post:
“We are very grateful for your trust and invaluable help! Hopefully, our cooperation with international partners will continue to yield equally positive results!”
In the Zaporizhzhia Oblast, four out of 12 municipalities received transport from U-LEAD and have already managed to put it into operation. The first buses were handed over to the municipalities of the region, which suffered serious destruction due to Russia’s aggression. For example, as part of the Initiative, the Preobrazhenka municipality has already received a bus, which is used to deliver humanitarian aid to the residents:
“We are so grateful to U-LEAD with Europe for their unwavering support of our municipality. Since the moment we voluntarily merged, the Programme has provided us with knowledge and strengthened the professional capabilities of our employees. Since the outset of the war, they were the first to provide our municipality with equipment (a forklift and a lighting device) and hand over water tanks and generators. The municipality has now received a vehicle that can be used to transport goods, but also for employees to move around in order to provide services to the public,” said Volodymyr Sidun, Head of the Preobrazhenka Rural Military Administration.
On behalf of the municipality, he expressed his gratitude to U-LEAD.
In February, the Vilniansk municipality received a vehicle for social services — a 9-seat Ford Transit Trend Kombi.
“In times of war and rebuilding, the work of the Programme is a positive influence on the lives of Ukrainians, as U-LEAD builds up the capacity of municipalities to make inclusive and transparent decisions, provide quality local services and implement effective local development policies. U-LEAD is committed to providing important knowledge, advice and equipment that help Ukrainian municipalities overcome the effects of the war and strengthen their resilience in the medium and long term,” reads the website of the Vilniansk municipality.
Kyiv and Chernihiv Oblasts — seven municipalities from two oblasts have already received aid
The municipalities of Kipti and Nova Basan, Chernihiv Oblast, received trucks instrumental in restoring social infrastructure, education and healthcare for both municipalities. They will also be used in the improvement of towns and villages. After all, in many municipalities of the Chernihiv Oblast, restoration work is still ongoing on sites that were damaged and destroyed in March 2022 as a result of Russia’s armed aggression.
“In the near future, after the relevant registration and permit documents are issued, this vehicle will actively work towards restoring the municipality’s social infrastructure, in particular educational and healthcare facilities, as well as providing public amenities in the municipality’s towns and villages,” the statement of the Nova Basan municipality reads.
As for the Kyiv Oblast, the Ivankiv and Makariv municipalities received passenger minibuses, which will be useful for both educational and social services. Municipalities of Borodianka, Poliske and Velyka Dymerka also received Peugeot 35 Heavy L3 trucks. They were handed over to municipal services of municipalities, which are in dire need of such transport.
“The received vehicle will be an important resource for the implementation of changes, development and strengthening of local self-government in the Borodianka municipality. We are grateful to all the participants of this important project for their joint efforts,” said Iryna Zakharchenko, acting village head of Borodianka.
Mykolaiv Oblast — 12 municipalities
A memorandum was signed between U-LEAD and 12 municipalities of the oblast, according to which they will receive 28 pieces of equipment, including 20 minibuses.
According to Oleh Ilnytskyi, Head of the Regional Office of U-LEAD in the Mykolaiv Oblast, the cars have already arrived in two municipalities, Pervomaiske and Radisnyi Sad. The received vehicles will be used to solve humanitarian issues such as transporting drinking water, food, basic necessities, etc. These vehicles will enable municipality professionals to respond more promptly to the challenges and needs of their residents.
We will remind you that communities of Mykolaiv Oblast received special equipment through U-LEAD before. Last year, the municipalities of the Mykolaiv Oblast also received a lot of special equipment and cars. In 2022, 31 municipalities of the oblast received 13 forklifts, 218 generators, 15 cutting machines and other equipment.
“The equipment received from U-LEAD facilitates response to today’s challenges and eliminating the effects of hostilities in the municipalities of Mykolaiv Oblast,” said Oleh Ilnytskyi.
