Cooperation for the reconstruction of Ukraine discussed at the 8 European Congress of Local Governments

The war destroyed hundreds of towns and villages and continues to wreak havoc on Ukrainian regions. While the EU and its local and regional authorities continue to deliver emergency aid, it is also important to join forces to support Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction, both now and after the war. Initiatives are being launched to help prepare for the final restoration of monuments, buildings and infrastructure. In this respect, it is necessary to coordinate joint efforts with cities and regions of the European Union, facilitate contacts with the EU institutions as well as between EU and Ukrainian authorities and local associations, and share expertise on capacity building, good governance and technical assistance. This topic was discussed by the participants of the debate entitled “Cooperation for the reconstruction of Ukraine”, which took place as part of the 8th European Congress of Local Governments in Mikolajki.

The debate was preceded by a presentation of the RebuildUA project, led by its manager Oksana Simonova. RebuildUA was founded by volunteers of the analytical service, which manages the Vkursi Zemli land bank and SmartFarming, a company dealing with land mapping and registering agricultural plots. Volunteers are helped to assess losses by architects, urban planners and scientists of the Kyiv Higher School of Economics (CES). Experts collect data from drones and satellites, then process them into orthophotomaps, on the basis of which they look for ruined infrastructure elements. Volunteers also look for photos on the Internet and social networks, document objects personally. The collected data is plotted on maps that show the degree of damage, describe the ruined objects and their purpose. On the basis of this data, reports and other analytical materials are created, containing information about the number, categories and classifications of damages, as well as other data necessary for further analysis. RebuildUA transfers the collected materials to local authorities, ministries and the National Council for the Reconstruction of Ukraine after the War. They are also used by the Kyiv Higher School of Economics, working on the project “Russia will pay”, under which data on business and civilian losses are collected. Gathering such information is an important element of the process of reconstruction of Ukraine.

Oksana Simonova also joined the debate, which was attended by Dmytro Razumkov, Deputy of the Supreme Council of Ukraine, a long-time British parliamentarian, and currently – the patron of the Ukrainian-British City Club John Grogan and prof. Wojciech Gizicki, Vice-Dean of the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin. The debate was moderated by the President of the Board of the Caucasus Foundation Karol Przywara.

As Dmytro Razumkov said, the damage caused by the war between Russia and Ukraine already reaches 700 billion dollars. This amount will continue to grow, due to the continuation of hostilities and the deoccupation of new areas. The reconstruction of Ukraine will be the largest project of its kind since World War II. Therefore, in his opinion, it is necessary to start projects that will help rebuild the state now. Exactly a year ago, Ukrainian troops entered Bucha, Hostomel, Irpin. Their inhabitants are already returning to these cities, so basic needs must be provided for them. The Ukrainian authorities are already preparing relevant laws and projects, but currently their main task is to support the economy and the army. Therefore, Ukraine counts on the help of partners in this regard.

His opinion was supported by John Grogan, who said that the reconstruction of many countries, including Great Britain, took place during the war. He justified this by saying that we do not know how long this war may last, so our task is to allow Ukrainians to return home to areas that are no longer controlled by the Russians. Ukraine itself should decide on the priorities and main goals of reconstruction, but it is important that after the end of the war it should be a modernized and modern state. In addition, each country should encourage societies to help Ukraine and establish deeper cooperation. Established partnerships between cities and regions can help. In his opinion, Ukrainian local governments are the driving force of changes and the main coordinator of reconstruction at that time, and cooperation with European partners can greatly accelerate this process.

Dmytro Razumkov supplemented his opinion and said that such contacts must take place at different levels: intergovernmental, local government and civic. In addition, it is important that different actors at different levels also work together to achieve the best results.

Prof. Wojciech Gizicki also underlined that the reconstruction of Ukraine should include a social aspect. Every Ukrainian feels the effects of war, and it may take decades to rebuild society in connection with the war. Therefore, it is necessary to return the children illegally deported to Russia as soon as possible and encourage Ukrainians living abroad to return home.