The national project “Side by Side” has been launched in Ukraine: Lviv will help Kharkiv in rebuilding the city
18 December 2024 08:49
Ukraine has launched the national project “Side by Side: Cohesive Communities”. The project was presented at the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities in Lviv by Oleksiy Kuleba, Vice Prime Minister for Reconstruction of Ukraine – Minister of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine. This was reported by the Ministry of Communities and Territories Development, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
According to Oleksiy Kuleba, the “Side by Side” project will include three forms of support:
– Restoration and repair work. First of all, people’s housing and social infrastructure will be restored;
– Humanitarian aid. Prompt supply of equipment and components for energy-dependent communities that have been subjected to rocket attacks;
– Culture and sports. The project will organize cultural and sports events to strengthen social ties. Particular attention will be paid to involving young people and children in these activities.
“This is a national initiative to help regions and communities of Ukraine restore settlements affected by Russian aggression. It is a partnership between cities and villages within the country. The project will unite the rear communities of Ukraine to support and restore those settlements of those communities located along the border on the line of contact, where a significant part of the infrastructure is damaged or destroyed,” said Oleksiy Kuleba.
According to Oleksiy Kuleba, in 2025 the initiative should become a state program that will rebuild more than 10,000 infrastructure facilities.
Lviv and Kharkiv joined forces to rebuild
As part of the national project “Side by Side: Cohesive Communities”, the mayors of Lviv and Kharkiv, Andriy Sadovyi and Ihor Terekhov, signed a Memorandum of Cooperation. The purpose of the agreement is to jointly attract international resources for the reconstruction of Kharkiv through European grants and partnership programs.
“It is important to combine our potential so that we can attract additional resources from European funds. Billions will be needed to rebuild Ukraine. And we are well aware that the funds in our local budgets are not enough for this. Therefore, we are starting to cooperate,” said Andriy Sadovyi.
The cooperation envisages closer interaction with the Eurocities organization and the Cities 4 Cities initiative, which has been operating under the Lviv City Council for two years and has already helped 53 Ukrainian communities to establish European partnerships.
“I expect that the agreement we have signed will be very effective, and we will once again tell everyone: East and West are together,” said Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov.
What else is known about the “Side by Side” project?
The project “Side by Side: Cohesive Communities” is aimed at uniting communities to support and restore the territories affected by the war. The initiative aims to unite the rear and central partner communities with outpost communities located on the contact line or near the border, where much of the infrastructure has been damaged.
As of today, more than 100 communities have joined the “Side by Side” project, and 51 memorandums of partnership have been signed. Another 114 outpost communities need support from partners.
The results of the pilot phase have already demonstrated the effectiveness of the initiative: last year, 15 regions restored more than 1,500 houses in Kherson Oblast. The cooperation is still ongoing: the communities not only help with the reconstruction, but also organize programs for children from the affected regions.
