Experimental restoration of war-affected settlements

Cabinet resolution #382 of April 25, 2023 

Decision-maker: the Cabinet 

Status: came into effect 

Who is affected: residents of territorial communities that will be restored, oblast state administrations, the Ministry for Communities, Territories, and Infrastructure Development, and the Restoration agency (coordinated by the Ministry of Infrastructure). 

Summary of the resolution: 

• the following settlements affected by hostilities will be restored within the experimental program: Borodianka township, Moshchun village in Kyiv oblast, Posad-Pokrovske village in Kherson oblast, Trostianets city in Sumy oblast, Tsyrkuny village in Kharkiv oblast, and Yahidne village in Chernihiv oblast 
• the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Restoration agency will coordinate the project 
• the list of objects to be restored or constructed will be prepared by oblast state administrations based on proposals from community councils 
  • the final decision on the restoration of particular objects will be made by the Restoration agency 
  • in the course of the experiment, it will be allowed to restore objects regardless of whether they are community, state, or private property. The lists of objects for restoration should be prepared by community managers based on the needs of their communities 
  • restoration of an object with funding from the program is conditional on it being listed in the Register of Property Damaged or Destroyed due to Hostilities 
• the experiment will be funded with money from the Fund for liquidating consequences of the armed aggression or other authorized sources (the list not provided) 
• the experiment will be conducted from 2023 to 2025 

• the procedure for state-funded capital construction and some provisions of the Procedure for using the funds of the Fund for liquidating consequences of the armed aggression will not apply to the experimental restoration. 

What is wrong: 

• the Restoration agency will manage the experimental reconstruction at its discretion, without clearly defined criteria for how the funding should be used. Such an approach will increase the risks of power abuse and corruption 
• the resolution does not take into account that the population in the affected communities has significantly decreased. Due to the demographic and employment changes, it is unclear whether there is a real need to restore the infrastructure in these communities 
• restoration of only some communities can lead to inefficient use of public funds since there is no comprehensive approach to the future development of the state economy was adopted and there is no plan on how the country as a whole will be rebuilt 

• there is a high risk of power abuse and corruption since the experiment will be conducted under simplified procedures without strengthened oversight. 

Alternative solution: 

• to develop a comprehensive approach to the future development of the state economy and a plan on how the country as a whole will be rebuilt.