In January the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine forwarded a draft of the Law of Ukraine On the Pillars of the Administrative and Territorial Arrangement of Ukraine for the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to consider. The bill standardizes the order and establishes clear procedures as for how and which public authorities can settle administrative and territorial arrangement issues in our state. Such standards are vitally important in the country carrying out the local self-government reform and the power territorial organisation.

Nowadays odd statement can be heard that Ukraine might lose hundreds of towns and villages as a result of this bill passing.

The Minregion claims that human settlements, having obtained the status of towns before the above mentioned bill coming into effect, will preserve the status.

The status of an urban-type settlement, being not available in the Constitution of Ukraine as an administrative division unit, has not been legally regulated yet. So the Law of Ukraine On the Pillars of the Administrative and Territorial Arrangement of Ukraine bill will regulate this issue as well.