Frontline communities join forces to rebuild territories

24 october 2025 19:45 City

More than 200 representatives of local government, executive authorities, and experts supported the statement by the Association of Frontline Cities and Communities on the need to develop a program for rebuilding frontline territories.

The initiative was announced today, October 24, in Mykolaiv during the forum “Ukrainian South: Resilience. Recovery. Future,” which brought together communities from the Mykolaiv, Odesa, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions.

The event was attended by the head of the Association of Frontline Cities and Communities, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov, heads of regional military administrations, members of parliament, and representatives of international organizations.

The main areas of the future program include social issues, the development of agricultural and industrial potential, science, IT, digital services, logistics, energy development, the development of post-war recovery projects, and environmental initiatives. The centers for program and decision development will be the Offices for Community Recovery and Development, which already have successful experience in coordinating donor assistance and creating effective development projects.

The head of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration, Vitaliy Kim, emphasized that the program's goal is to create conditions for investment in frontline communities. He added that southern regions are already working on modernization and are not waiting for the war to end in order to develop.

During the forum, more than 100 communities from the Mykolaiv, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Odesa regions signed memoranda of intent to join the Association of Frontline Cities and Communities.

"Within the framework of the Association, we are already planning to launch several joint interregional projects in the areas of safe education, housing restoration and renovation, energy sustainability, and critical infrastructure modernization. We are now actively advocating for the need to leave 64% of personal income tax in frontline communities. I am confident that we can accomplish these tasks, because frontline territories are not only a line of defense but also a potential line of development. I see a great demand from communities to join forces and form a strategy to defend their own interests. Therefore, I am confident that our Association will expand and gain momentum," emphasized Ihor Terekhov.