On 10 July, the Parliamentary Committee on the Organisation of State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning recommended that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopt as a basis the Government's Draft Law No. 13065 on amendments to certain laws of Ukraine regarding the procedure for naming (renaming) communities, determining (changing) their category as rural, settlement or urban, as well as the specifics of naming local governments as legal entities under public law.

The Draft Law provides for the opportunity to rename communities after changing the name of their administrative centres as a result of the decolonisation of the names of localities. It also establishes a mechanism for determining the category of a community (i.e. as a village, settlement or city).

As is commonly known, no government entity currently has the authority to change the names and categories of communities.

The explanatory note to the Draft Law states:

‘Until the law on the administrative-territorial structure of Ukraine is adopted, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine shall determine the administrative centres and approve the territories of communities, name (rename) communities, determine (change) their category as rural, settlement or urban.’

The Government will make decisions on renaming communities and changing their category upon the proposal of the Ministry for Development.