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.

The last month of 2025 was marked by significant events and strategic decisions for Ukrainian local self-government. Despite the ongoing war, the state is adapting its policies to new challenges and laying a solid foundation for the next stages of the reform. Key topics include the delineation of powers, the adoption of a state budget with new rules for local finances, the official definition of frontline areas and an international Statement on the role of local self-government in wartime.

 

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the Statement on local self-government in conditions of war and occupation

On 17 December 2025, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted an important statement aimed at an international audience. The Statement was intended to draw the world community’s attention to russia’s systematic violations of human rights and international law in temporarily occupied territories.

The document emphasises the critical role of local governments in ensuring the functioning of communities during wartime and calls for increased international support for Ukraine to protect its population and reconstruction. It notes that the occupying authorities are deliberately destroying local self-government as an institution, and that more than 50 representatives of local councils and community leaders remain in captivity.

This step should mobilise additional international assistance and confirm Ukraine’s commitment to continuing democratic reforms, including decentralisation, despite the war. Read more…

 

Ministry for Development presented key progress on delineation of powers based on subsidiarity principle at Bucha Forum

During the Bucha Forum ‘Reforms. Decentralisation. European Integration’, which took place in early December, the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories presented the results of its ambitious work – a draft framework law ‘On the Principles of Delineation of Powers between Executive Authorities and Local Governments’.

This work, carried out on the principle of subsidiarity, is performed within the Ukraine Facility. The draft law’s main objective is to ensure that every citizen knows who to contact to resolve a problem and receive a quality service. The key innovations of the draft law are:

• Clear classification of powers into own, delegated, solidary and state powers.
• Correlation of types of powers with mechanisms for their financing to ensure stability.
• Introduction of European principles, in particular the European Charter of Local Self-Government, as a direct legal source.

Experts, including those from the Council of Europe, have noted that this draft law brings Ukraine closer to the practical implementation of European standards. Read more…

 

State Budget 2026: New rules for local finances

Adopted by the Verkhovna Rada on 3 December, the country’s main financial document for the next year introduces significant changes to the structure of inter-budgetary relations.

Key aspects for local governments:

• PIT distribution: For 2026, it has been set that 64 per cent of the tax will remain in community budgets. Additionally, 4 per cent of these funds must be allocated to paying for energy and utility services, thereby ensuring a stable heating season.
• The proportion of revenues from certain services provided by the Ministry of Internal Affairs that are allocated to local budgets has been temporarily reduced from 70 to 50 per cent in order to finance the Ministry’s own needs.
• Funding priorities: The main focus of the budget is defence. However, education has received a record increase in funding (over UAH 79.8 billion), including a 30 per cent increase in teachers’ salaries, as well as funds for free meals, textbooks, and bomb shelters.

Experts mention that some provisions, such as the mandatory earmarking of 4 per cent of PIT, are debatable and need to be aligned with the Budget Code. Read more…

 

97 per cent of local budgets were adopted for 2026

By the end of December 2025, Ukrainian communities had almost completed a key stage of financial planning: adopting budgets for the following year.

As of 26 December, 1,542 local budgets had been adopted out of a total of 1,597, representing 97 per cent. The process has been completed in full in seven regions: Volyn, Donetsk, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad, Lviv, Kharkiv, and Chernivtsi.

This means that the vast majority of communities will have a clear financial basis for their work from 1 January 2026. The timely adoption of budgets ensures stability in critical sectors. Read more…

 

The Government adopted updated approaches to implementing the Concept of Local Self-Government Reform, taking into account the war and European integration

The Cabinet of Ministers approved the document ‘Specifics of Implementing the Concept of Reforming Local Self-Government and Territorial Organisation of Power in the Context of Military Challenges and European Integration’.

This update to the 2014 Concept takes into account three main new realities: full-scale war, the strategic course towards EU membership, and the progress already achieved in decentralisation. The document is structured in four parts and defines the key vectors for further work, including:

• Preparing legislative changes.
• Strengthening the capacity of communities.
• Bringing local self-government into compliance with European law.
• Integrating decentralisation into the post-war recovery process.

This document should form the basis of a concrete action plan containing clear steps and deadlines. Read more…

 

Award for ‘Rescue Communities’ was launched in Ukraine

On the Day of Local Self-Government, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy launched the ‘Rescue Communities’ honorary award.

The award will honour communities whose residents provide substantial humanitarian aid to frontline communities and defence forces, and contribute to strengthening the country’s defence capabilities. It is state recognition of the daily work, unity and support that form the basis of the country’s resilience. Read more…

                                                

Frontline territories were given official status

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine amended the State Strategy for Regional Development, formally establishing the concept of frontline territories for the first time.

This decision enables a shift from a uniform approach to a differentiated policy, taking into account the varying security levels and specific needs of communities living under constant threat. The official definition establishes a legal basis for developing special programmes and allocating targeted funding for reconstruction projects for such territories. Read more…

 

Assessing capacity of communities: New approach was presented

The Ministry for Development, in partnership with international programmes, presented an updated approach to assessing the capacity of communities and the first version of the corresponding dashboard.

The tool is based on four groups of criteria (24 indicators):

1. Human potential.
2. Humanitarian and economic potential.
3. Institutional capacity.
4. Financial capacity.

The purpose is not to create a ranking, but to provide the state with the opportunity to target support to communities that need assistance in specific sectors, based on verified data. The presentation marked the beginning of a broad discussion with communities and experts. Read more…

 

DECIDE presented findings of a comprehensive study on decentralisation of education

The Swiss-Ukrainian ‘Decentralisation for Improved Democratic Education’ (DECIDE) Project, in collaboration with the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, published the results of the second nationwide survey on local education management. The study, which polled over 7,500 people, revealed the following key trends:

• Progress: increase in strategic planning, system stability, implementation of digital tools.
• Challenges: excessive bureaucracy and reporting, unclear delineation of powers, low trust of residents to local authorities.

The study confirms that, despite the war, the movement towards decentralisation of education continues, but there are still some sensitive issues that require systemic solutions. Read more…

 

Platform for electronic consultations with local governments

The Bucha Forum presented the KOMS platform, an innovative tool for direct digital dialogue between government bodies and communities.

The platform is already operating in test mode and has over 1,450 authorised community representatives. Five national consultations have been held on the platform, the results of which are already being used by the Verkhovna Rada in finalising draft laws. The tool is intended to become a mandatory mechanism for involving local self-government in decision-making. Read more…

 

The Verkhovna Rada Committee will analyse the effectiveness of the law on international cooperation

The Parliamentary Committee on Public Administration, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning began a parliamentary analysis of the effectiveness of Law No. 3668-IX ‘On International Territorial Cooperation’.

The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the extent to which current legislation achieves its goal of fostering and developing international relations between communities, particularly during wartime. To this end, the advanced British method of post-legislative scrutiny (PLS) was employed to study the practical effects of the law, its economic feasibility and any unforeseen consequences. The main analytical tool is a nationwide survey which ran until 26 December 2025. Read more…

 

The National Agency of Ukraine for Civil Service approved methodological recommendations for testing local government employees

The National Agency of Ukraine for Civil Service published methodological recommendations that detail the procedures for testing and assessing the suitability of local government employees for their positions.

This document was developed to implement the provisions of Law No. 3077-IX ‘On Service in Local Governments’. The Agency reminds that the law will come into force six months after its publication, but no earlier than six months after the termination of martial law. This gives communities time to learn about and prepare for the future requirements. Read more…

 

A new DECIDE career guidance hub was opened in Brovary

The ninth career guidance hub in Ukraine, created with the support of the Swiss-Ukrainian DECIDE Project, was launched at the Brovary Vocational College.

This modern, interactive 100 m² space allows schoolchildren in Grades 7–9 to experience various professions first-hand at special workstations, from welding and painting to truck driving. The aim is to help children make more informed choices about their future careers. Ten such centres have been created in six regions as part of the initiative. Read more…

 

Winners of the Regional Future grant programme were announced

On 22 December, the Swiss-Ukrainian ‘Ukraine’s Cohesion and Regional Development’ (UCORD) Project, in cooperation with the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories, announced the winners of the Regional Future competition for regional development agencies.

Five agencies will receive grants to implement strategically important regional initiatives in non-pilot regions. The Programme aims to support regional recovery and strengthen the capacity of regional development agencies as coordination centres and drivers of economic growth. Read more…

 

DECIDE expands its partnership: Four more regions will join the Project

The Swiss-Ukrainian Decentralisation for Improved Democratic Education (DECIDE) Project is launching its second five-year phase (2025–2030) with a significantly expanded geographical scope of cooperation. Following a competitive selection process, four more regions will join the existing five partner regions (Poltava, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernihiv, Odesa, and Luhansk): Sumy, Zhytomyr, Kyiv, and Lviv. The Project will thus cover nine regions. Key priorities for the new phase will include support for reforms in specialised secondary and vocational education, the development of academic lyceums, grant programmes for the modernisation of educational infrastructure, career guidance, development programmes for local administrators and the introduction of local democracy tools. In January 2026, the selection of 40 partner communities for direct participation in the Project will begin in all nine regions. Read more…

 

December consolidated important decisions for local self-government: the reform framework was updated to take into account the war and European integration, financial rules for 2026 were defined, tools for better dialogue between the state and communities were launched, and frontline territories were defined at the regulatory level for the first time. These are not breakthroughs or symbols – they are practical steps that shape the conditions in which communities will operate.

 

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