At the beginning of each month, the Decentralisation portal summarises the Government’s and Parliament’s decisions concerning local self-government and development of communities.

October 2025 witnessed active efforts to strengthen community resilience, update regional policy approaches, and expand international cooperation. The agenda of the Government and Parliament included issues relating to frontline territories, energy security, the legality of local government decisions and preparations for Ukraine’s integration into the European regional development space.

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Government resolutions

• Support for frontline territories
Yuliia Svyrydenko, Prime Minister, said that the frontline regions are one of the Government’s key priorities. To make sure things run smoothly in these areas, a Coordination Centre for Frontline Territory Management has been set up, headed by Oleksii Kuleba, Deputy Prime Minister - Minister for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine. Each ministry plans to appoint deputies responsible for developing policies for these territories. Read more

• Protection of energy infrastructure
The Cabinet of Ministers has set up a Coordination Headquarters for Energy Protection to bring together all the organisations responsible for energy, transport, heating and communications. The aim is to speed up the construction of protective measures around energy facilities and ensure the system operates without interruption during the winte. Read more

• State Fund for Regional Development
The Government has approved a list of 48 public investment projects that will receive funding from the State Fund for Regional Development in 2025. The total amount of funding is UAH 1 billion, and the projects will be implemented in 16 regions. Read more

• Restoration of communities
A total of 331 communities submitted 677 applications for funding for restoration projects under joint programmes with the European Investment Bank. Read more

• Additional subsidy to communities
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved the distribution of UAH 1.4 billion in additional subsidies to 360 community budgets, as well as to regional budgets in de-occupied and war-affected territories, for the third quarter of 2025.
The subsidy is intended to compensate for losses in local budget revenues, in particular:

• UAH 635.7 million — for 164 local budgets as compensation for losses from personal income tax;
• UAH 383.8 million — for 81 communities as compensation for losses from land payments;
• UAH 38.3 million — for 77 communities as compensation for losses from property tax, other than land;
• UAH 56.8 million — for 38 communities as compensation for losses from single tax;
• UAH 297.3 million — for the regional budgets of the Donetsk, Kirovohrad, Odesa, Poltava, and Sumy regions as compensation for losses from corporate income tax. Read more

• Energy independence for communities
The Government has approved the allocation of UAH 396 million in subsidies to local budgets for the installation of solar panels, heat pumps, and energy storage systems in schools, hospitals, and kindergartens. This will increase energy independence and ensure the uninterrupted operation of these institutions in the event of a prolonged absence of heat or electricity. Read more

• Redistribution of subsidies for additional development projects
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the redistribution of state subsidies to finance an additional 15 projects in nine regions. Eleven of these projects relate to the restoration of water supply and sewage systems, while four relate to the reconstruction of medical facilities in various regions. The total number of state projects receiving funding has increased from 106 to 121. Read more

Verkhovna Rada and its Committee

• Sustainability of local self-government
The Verkhovna Rada adopted Resolution No. 14031, confirming the legitimacy and sustainability of local governments during martial law. Read more

• Legality of local self-government decisions
The Parliament adopted in the first reading Draft Law No. 14048, aimed at ensuring the legality and transparency of local government activity. Read more

• Depoliticisation of heads of administrations
The Verkhovna Rada Committee supported Draft Law No. 14029, which aims to depoliticise the work of heads of local state administrations. Read more

• Budget 2026
On 22 October, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a resolution on conclusions and proposals for the draft State Budget for 2026. Read more

Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine

• Reform of local self-government and territorial organisation of power
On 2 October, a regional discussion was held in Lviv, and on 10 October, a presentation of the report on public consultations on the draft ‘Specifics of Implementing the Concept of Local Self-Government Reform’ was held. Discussion | Report on consultations

• Monitoring the reform
The Ministry for Development has published the results of its monitoring of local self-government and territorial organisation reforms for the third quarter of 2025. Read more

• Polish-Ukrainian partnership
The second phase of the project ‘Accelerating the development of regional policy in Ukraine with the help of Poland’ has begun, which is being implemented jointly with the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy of Poland. Read more

• Ukraine – Slovenia: New level of cooperation
On 30 October, Oleksii Kuleba, Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration of Ukraine – Minister for Development of Communities and Territories, met with Tanja Fajon, Deputy Prime Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia, in Kyiv. A Memorandum of Cooperation in Regional Development was signed, opening a new stage of partnership between the countries. The document provides for joint initiatives within the framework of the ‘Shoulder-to-Shoulder: Cohesive Communities’ project and the implementation of European approaches to regional policy. Read more

International projects and events

• European Week of Regions and Cities
From 13 to 15 October, Brussels hosted EURegionsWeek, where Ukraine was one of the central topics. On 14 October, six Ukrainian regional development agencies signed memoranda of cooperation with EURADA. Round table | Memoranda of ARD – EURADA

• Mariupol Declaration of Justice
The Mariupol City Council and Wrocław, Poland, signed the first Mariupol Declaration of Justice, recognising the deliberate destruction of the city by the Russian army as a tragedy of global scale. The document became an act of international solidarity that will help to record Russia's war crimes and bring those responsible to justice. Read more

• UCORD Project
A new grant competition has been announced for regional development agencies from non-pilot regions — to support regional partnerships and competitiveness projects. Read more

• UCORD — ‘Greenhouse of Ideas’
The Swiss-Ukrainian UCORD project has launched a grant competition for start-up entrepreneurs in the creative industries in six pilot regions. Read more

• DECIDE Project
Career guidance hubs have been opened in Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk as part of the Swiss-Ukrainian DECIDE Project. Lviv | Ivano-Frankivsk

• Forum on metropolitan governance
On 23–24 October, Lviv hosted the second International Forum of Agglomerations, entitled ‘Agglomerations and functional territories: European approaches and their implementation in Ukraine’. Read more

Analytics and research

• Smart City and regional potential
A study entitled ‘The role of local self-government in Ukraine’s economic recovery: the potential of regions and smart development’ was presented in Kyiv. Read more

• Monitoring of local self-government reform
The Ministry for Development has updated its data for the third quarter — communities are showing growth in their own revenues and activity in the field of cooperation. Read more

Honorary distinctions

On 1 October, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded the honorary title of ‘Hero City of Ukraine’ to 16 cities in seven regions, including Sumy, Trostianets, Kramatorsk, Huliaipole, Bashtanka, and others. Read more

October saw the continued implementation of tasks aimed at developing regions and communities. The Government, Parliament, local authorities and international partners are working together to ensure that Ukraine has a strong state and strong communities that are ready for recovery and integration into the European community.

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