Oleksii Vorobiov on how his community is coping now, with one part of it occupied and the other in the ‘grey zone’

 

From the editors of the ‘Decentralisation’ portal

‘Thanks to the interview with “Decentralisation”, we received a minibus…’ – these words from Oleksii Vorobiov, Head of Siversk community, are the greatest thanks we could receive. And proof that it is vitally important to discuss the problems communities face, even from areas of active hostilities. The minibus in question is already evacuating people from under shelling.

However, the war is not over, and the needs are only becoming more acute. Today, Siversk community, half of which is in the ‘grey zone’, and Siversk itself – under the fire control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine – needs your help.

What the community urgently needs right now:

• Small generators (2–3 kW). This is a matter of survival in conditions where there is no constant electricity supply.
• Personal hygiene items. People living in dangerous conditions have no access to even the most basic necessities.

Everyone who cares can become this ‘partner’ who helps keep the community going. Please join in!

Now, read an interview with a man whose team never takes a day off; despite mortal danger, they are making plans for the future and donating swings to their partner communities, made from wood sourced from the forests where fighting is still ongoing.

 

By Dmytro Syniak

 

 

A little less than six months have passed since our last interview with Oleksii Vorobiov, but a lot has changed for Siversk community since then. Siversk was lost unexpectedly and quickly. However, Oleksii Vorobiov, Head of the Siversk Military Administration, insists that it is too early to include Siversk community on the list of occupied areas. After all, half of it remains free, even though it is marked as a grey zone on the DeepState map, and Siversk itself is under the full fire control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

 

 Oleksii Vorobiov, Head of the Siversk Military Administration

 

How Decentralisation has contributed to the defence of Ukraine

What part of Siversk community is controlled by the Ukrainian Government?

Precisely half of it – four localities. And Siversk itself is under the full fire control of our soldiers. I urge you to stress this. We are alive! We are fighting! We are working! We are helping the Armed Forces of Ukraine to strike the enemy even more effectively and accurately. In fact, the Decentralisation portal has become an important platform for us to highlight our most pressing concerns. Through such platforms, various donors learn about us and then provide us with assistance. Following our last interview with Decentralisation, our partners contacted us and offered to donate a minibus at no cost for the evacuation of residents. Although it is not armoured, it is four-wheel drive! Just what we need! We will armour it ourselves. So we are sincerely grateful to both our partners and the Decentralisation portal for such vital help and support!

Good to hear! Do you still use this minibus? Are there any residents left in the part of the community under Ukrainian control?

Unfortunately, there are currently still eleven people in the community. We do not know for certain what has happened to them, as active hostilities remain ongoing there. We are using the minibus to evacuate our residents who remain in various locations across Donetsk region, which are also under constant enemy fire. I mean Mykolaivka, Druzhkivka, Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, and Cherkaske and Novodonetske settlements. We are paying particular attention to evacuating children, and this work is currently being carried out intensively. We are also delivering humanitarian aid to those remaining in the region despite the difficult and dangerous conditions.

Following the seizure of Siversk, several videos appeared on russian propaganda channels in which the town’s residents thanked their ‘liberators’. Perhaps those who have remained in their homes are simply waiting?

No, I would not say that. Though it is impossible to get inside everyone’s head. I was extremely impressed, even shocked, by these videos. I know all these people. My team and I have brought them food and medicine many times, risking our own lives. And we also heard words of gratitude and support for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which seemed sincere. And now these people are badmouthing us, smiling happily at those who wanted and still want to kill us. Well, how is that possible!? I cannot understand it. But one thing is comforting: none of these people said they were starving. In other words, albeit indirectly, they confirmed that the Ukrainian authorities provided for them all. And did so until the very last moment. However, I should point out that it is unclear what measures, so to speak, the russian occupiers used against these people. Everyone knows that sometimes people are forced to say certain things. All russian propaganda is built on this.

In a previous interview, you said that around a hundred residents of your community had been killed as a result of the russian invasion. Has the russian offensive led to further casualties?

Regrettably, it has. As of December, 108 residents of our community have been recorded as deceased as a result of the military aggression by the russian federation. However, we do not currently have accurate and fully verified figures, as the intense fighting and restricted access to certain areas are complicating the process of fully accounting for the casualties.

 

The minibus that Siversk community received following an interview with Oleksii Vorobiov for Decentralisation, 2 February 2026

 

The handover of the minibus. From left to right: Marshall Mayer, Executive Director of Ukraine Aid International; Oksana Holovko, Director of the Department of Investment, Innovation and External Relations at the Donetsk Regional State Administration; Oleksii Vorobiov, Head of the Siversk City Military Administration; and Bohdan Shestopalov, Director of Operations of the Ukraine Aid International. 2 February 2026

 

Oleksii Vorobiov speaking with military personnel

 

The swings from the Serebrianskyi forest, or How the partnership within the framework of the ‘Shoulder-to-Shoulder’ project is changing Ukraine

Back in February 2026, a news story was published stating that Siversk and Olhopil communities had agreed on a joint action plan for 2026. Could you tell us more about this?

We have signed an agreement on cooperation covering literally all areas. Overall, Olhopil community is one of our four partners in the ‘Shoulder-to-Shoulder: Cohesive Communities’ Project. The other three are Mukachevo, Dubrynychi, and Onokivtsi communities. These communities helped us a lot last year. Moreover, not only our residents received assistance, but also our internally displaced persons, and most importantly – the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stationed here. The most interesting collaboration has been with Onokivtsi community in Zakarpattia region. We plan to jointly implement the ‘Agri-town for IDPs’ project in this community. People will live in modular homes and have jobs nearby. This will, of course, be temporary, as I have no doubt that our community will be liberated and we will all return to our homes. In Onokivtsi, our people will also have access to a newly built school and a nursery. In other words, a very good project is being developed. But I do not want to reveal the details of it just yet, because, you know, some things are best kept quiet.

In what areas do you cooperate with your three other partners on the ‘Shoulder-to-Shoulder’ project?

Thanks to this project, Ukraine is becoming more cohesive and stronger, like the fingers of one hand clenched into a fist. Of course, the war is a terrible tragedy, a calamity that has robbed us of our homes. On the other hand, we have gained a sense of unity with the whole country, with our entire nation. For example, ten of our children are currently on holiday in Austria – all thanks to our cooperation within the ‘Shoulder to Shoulder’ Project. We exchange professional expertise and certain material resources. We support one another. In fact, we work shoulder to shoulder. This cooperation is mutual and, I believe, mutually beneficial. For instance, we pass on to our partner communities the equipment that we have managed to preserve and that we do not currently need. And they make full use of all this. I mean not only computers, laptops, and interactive whiteboards from schools, but also public transport. For example, we handed over our tractor, bus and wood splitter to Onokivtsi community. We also had a group that used sewing machines, so we handed those over to Onokivtsi community as well. Now they use these machines to sew flags and children’s costumes for various performances in nurseries. One could say that our partner communities have become a sort of rear base for us, where we can store our property and various valuables.

A very unusual initiative launched by Siversk community last December was the donation of children’s swings to partner communities. Tell us a bit more about this.

It was my idea. The swings have been installed in Mukachevo, Onokivtsi and Dubrynychi communities. This unusual gift has become a symbol of gratitude for the support, assistance, and solidarity our partners provide us within the framework of inter-municipal cooperation.

What is special about these swings?

Part of Siversk community is covered by the Serebrianskyi forest, which has already become a symbol of Ukraine’s defence. The swings are made from trees that grew in this forest. In this way, several communities in Ukraine have been able to literally touch this forest, to feel it. Besides, this is how we remind people of ourselves. Let people know, let them even feel it with their own hands: Siversk community exists, it has not given up, it is fighting! And in this struggle, it needs help... The swings are also a symbol of the ruined childhoods of thousands of Ukrainian children, a silent accusation to the russian invaders. These swings are like a part of our heart.

Does this cooperation change the mindset of residents in partner communities?

It sure does, and this is the most important thing. Thanks to our cooperation, the view pushed by russian propaganda – that Donetsk region is supposedly pro-russian – is changing. When residents of our partner communities see how we are helping the Armed Forces of Ukraine, how we are doing everything we can to preserve our state – it impresses them, and they change their attitude towards Donetsk region. We believe in our Ukraine, we love it and we do not want to live in russia or anywhere else. We wish everyone could be as patriotic as we are!

 

The swings symbolise the genetic code of Siversk community for the whole of Ukraine. Yevhen Leiba, then acting head of Onokivtsi Village Council in Uzhhorod district of Zakarpattia region, and Oleksii Vorobiov, Head of the Siversk Military Administration (on the right)

 

In Mukachevo. From left to right: Serhii Kalian, Head of the Bakhmut District State Administration in Donetsk region; Sviatoslav Tuz, Deputy Mayor for Executive Bodies of the Mukachevo City Council in Mukachevo district, Zakarpattia region; Oleksii Vorobiov, Head of the Siversk City Military Administration in Bakhmut district, Donetsk region; a representative of Mukachevo community

 

The original idea came to life with the ‘Shoulder-to-Shoulder’ project

 

‘Most want to return home and support the Armed Forces of Ukraine…’

Does Siversk community have international partners as well? Do they help?

Yes, we are actively working on this. Last year, thanks to contacts established through our key partner in the ‘Shoulder-to-Shoulder’ project, Onokivtsi community, we signed a trilateral memorandum of cooperation – I believe the first of its kind in Ukraine – between ourselves, Onokivtsi community, and a Czech community. I even travelled to Prague to sign this agreement. We have wonderful partners in the municipality of Weston in the US, in the state of Connecticut. They are our true friends, who have never refused to help us.

In your previous interview, you mentioned that you had relocated the community’s medical facilities to Zhovti Vody in Dnipropetrovsk region. Does that mean that most of your residents live there?

No, we chose Zhovti Vody because they accommodated us free of charge. Rent prices are high, and every hryvnia counts for us right now. We donate all our spare funds to the Armed Forces. Healthcare is a very costly sector for any community, so saving money was our top priority. Moreover, our people have already got used to the online system: doctors see some patients via video link and give them recommendations over the phone. And we are already sending medicines, nappies and, in general, everything patients need all across Ukraine. On the other hand, many of our residents have indeed moved to Zhovti Vody. They have large communities in Kyiv, Dnipro, and Kryvyi Rih, and smaller ones in Poltava and Kharkiv. We send humanitarian aid there once a quarter, which every family of our residents receives.

What is the opinion of those who have left?

Most want to return home and support the Armed Forces of Ukraine. There are many volunteers from our community, and most importantly – many military personnel. Quite a few young men and women have joined the armed forces to resist russian aggression.

Do residents of Siversk community receive new housing under the eVidnovlennya programme?

Yes, they do. Fortunately, the relevant commission works here, and I am grateful to every member for what they do. This work affects the fate of hundreds, if not thousands, of families. In order to receive funds for new housing, the commission must issue a report on the old housing, and we all know how difficult that is under our current circumstances. The fact that buildings can be inspected remotely using drones is a positive change, but this does not always resolve the issue, as Ukrainian drones are constantly being targeted by russian drones. So often, a drone sent to inspect a house never returns. However, we are getting round this by commissioning satellite imagery. Sometimes that is quite sufficient. I am proud to say that in the relevant ranking for Donetsk region, Siversk community occupies the top spots – precisely because of its work under the eVidnovlennya programme.

What problems do residents come to you with?

They often struggle to complete the application correctly for compensation for damaged homes under the eVidnovlennya programme. There are a lot of legal aspects to consider, and everyone’s situation is different. Moreover, many people simply did not have the necessary housing documents in order. So that is the biggest problem at the moment.

 

Handling sewing machines transferred from Siversk to Onokivtsi community

 

Flag and costumes for children’s performances of all kinds are now made on sewing machines from Siversk

 

Фото 10. Apart from sewing machines, Siversk community is handing over municipal equipment and other assets to its partners – also for safekeeping

 

‘We have developed a number of unique managerial and technical solutions…’

Even before the full-scale invasion, the problem of staffing was quite acute. Where do you find staff now?

Yes, this problem is indeed quite serious. Last year we were lucky enough to find a good lawyer. If he gets overwhelmed, there is another good lawyer in the district. We also bring in specialists from partner communities, the regional administration and so on to help resolve certain issues. They usually try to help us, understanding the complexity of our situation.

You have been Head of the Siversk Military Administration for almost four years now. Can you tell us what has struck you most during this time?

I never stop being amazed by the nature of my work. One might think that a community leader should be building and developing the community, yet I deal almost exclusively with destruction. Another striking thing is the resilience of my team, which is always focused on victory and on providing maximum support to our Armed Forces and our people in general. These people have a vision that is entirely new for Ukraine. They always think about the future and work with a long-term perspective. This new, unique vision has been shaped by the war. Perhaps because of it, these people are doing what might seem impossible to others. By the way, we are discussing with our partner communities a specific exchange of experience in this area. In other words, my team is ready to teach our friends to work differently, with much greater efficiency, sometimes using unique managerial and technical solutions.

What specific solutions do you have in mind?

When it comes to documents, this means using cloud services. But my point is not about technology. Just imagine: we have been living here for four years with virtually no electricity, heating or gas, and often without internet or mobile coverage. And yet living conditions were not so bad: shops worked until the very end, and all possible services were provided. Utility workers cleaned the streets and collected rubbish, doctors treated patients… How did we manage that? That is what I am ready to tell our partners!

What is your vision for the future of your community? Are you working on drafting any documents for the future reconstruction of Siversk and the surrounding villages?

Of course, we are. The time will come when we will find investors and rebuild everything. We already have a clear vision for the future of Siversk: a pleasant, cosy town without high-rise buildings, with autonomous energy supply systems and the latest technical solutions.

Now that Siversk is in the grey zone, has your workload been reduced?

Sadly, no. Everyone is working like a hamster in a wheel from dawn till dusk, with no days off. I cannot tell you everything we are doing, but remember that we are a military administration, and we are at war. So we definitely have plenty to do.

We will try to help you once again. You already have a minibus for evacuations. What do you need now?

- Small generators, with a capacity of 2–3 kW. You probably understand the situation with electricity here. Our residents are also asking for personal hygiene items. If someone could send us some, I would be very grateful!

 

During a working visit by Oleksii Vorobiov, Head of the Siversk Military Administration, to Olhopil community, 25 February 2026

 

Children from Siversk community on an excursion to Güssing Castle in Austria, which they visited thanks to cooperation between the communities within the framework of the ‘Shoulder-to-Shoulder’ project, March 2026

 

Children from Siversk community on holiday in Austria, March 2026