The Ministry for Communities, Territories and Internally Displaced Persons of Ukraine plans to launch the “The State is Nearby. Starostas” project by the end of 2026. The project is aimed to strengthen the capacity of starostas to provide basic services to residents of remote localities. For this purpose, resources from international partners are to be attracted without placing an additional burden on the state and local budgets.

This was highlighted by Vitalii Bezgin, Minister for Communities, Territories and Internally Displaced Persons of Ukraine, in an interview with Glavkom, published on 10 November 2026.

Responding to a question about the situation in remote villages after the decentralisation reform, the Minister admitted that access to services in such localities remains a problem. However, he stressed that the reform of the administrative-territorial structure is one of the most successful in Ukraine, although not all sectoral changes have been successfully adapted to the new system of local self-government.

‘We hope to launch the project “The State is Nearby: Starostas” by the end of this year, which will significantly strengthen the capacity of starostas to provide basic services. We plan to do this, in particular, without drawing on the state budget and without placing a burden on local budgets,’ said Vitalii Bezgin.

One of the aims of the future project is to provide starostas with the necessary resources for their work.

‘We are currently planning to use funding from international partners to obtain more equipment and tools for starostas, so as to really bring services closer to citizens in remote localities,’ the Minister explained.

However, MinRehion does not plan to impose stricter legislative regulations on starostas’ powers. According to Vitalii Bezgin, different communities have different needs, so they have to retain the ability to determine for themselves how starosta districts are organised.

‘A starosta today is, without exaggeration, a “one-man band”. In reality, different communities may entrust starostas with varying scopes of authority. For example, some communities entrust them with certain administrative services, whereas others do not,’ he noted.

The Minister also mentioned the example of starostas’ participation in the work of local council executive committees. He explained that a starosta may be a member of the executive committee, but this is not compulsory, particularly given that some communities have as many as 30–40 starostas.

‘We have deliberately left this decision to communities, as there are communities where there may be as many as 30–40 starostas, and obviously not all of them can be included in the executive committee,’ explained Vitalii Bezgin.

He also clarified that the variety of functions performed by starostas should not result in an unlimited workload for them.

‘This is not about an unlimited workload, but about the varying needs of communities and the accessibility of services. A starosta has to represent the interests of residents and liaise with the authorities. The specific scope of their powers depends on the needs of the community and how its work is organised. It is essential that they have not only responsibilities but also the tools to perform their duties,’ the Minister emphasised.

Vitalii Bezgin also opposed proposals to legislate that a specific portion of the community’s budget be allocated to starostas. In his view, such an approach would run counter to the logic of amalgamating communities and could lead to the re-creation of financially unsustainable administrative units.

‘When proposals are put forward to allocate a separate, fixed portion of the community budget to starostas, I, as Minister, am categorically opposed,’ he stated.

Hence, in the approach outlined by the Minister, strengthening the role of starostas is linked primarily to expanding their practical capabilities, rather than to the centralised establishment of a uniform list of functions or specific budgetary powers.