Ukraine’s Local Actors: The Unspoken Heroes

As Ukraine advances on its path toward EU integration, anticipation is building ahead of the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2025 in Rome, a key international political gathering where government officials, financial institutions, civil society groups, and others will continue work on the swift recovery and long-term reconstruction of Ukraine.

One critical question should be front and center: What tangible progress on recovery and local empowerment will be achieved this year that goes beyond the promises made in Berlin at last year’s conference? While Ukraine’s decade-long decentralization reform, transferring authority and resources to local levels, is widely recognized as one of the country’s most successful and strategic transformations—key to its wartime resilience—reform mechanisms remain chronically underfunded at the local and regional levels.

Last month in Verona, over 400 stakeholders from Europe gathered to express solidarity and commitment. The will is there. But will alone is not enough. Funding is the missing piece, and not just any funding. What’s imperative now is direct, accessible EU funding for Ukrainian local and regional authorities (LRAs). 

Local but Internationally Engaged

Ukraine’s LRAs have been on the front lines—not only of war, but of governance. Since Russian forces invaded on 24 February 2022, they have been working in an unrelenting 24/7 emergency response mode, delivering critical services under the most extreme conditions. In many areas, mayors and local officials have become prisoners of war, targeted precisely because of their leadership and legitimacy.

At the same time, Ukrainian LRAs have risen to an entirely new level of international engagement. They have accelerated efforts in city-to-city diplomacy, building lasting bridges with European counterparts. At the latest count, 487 Ukrainian municipalities have signed 2,101 partnership agreements with local and regional governments in 64 countries. These are not symbolic gestures—they are functional alliances that support resilience, learning, and democratic solidarity. But these partnerships need financial means to sustain and grow.

Yet as the EU unveils major support packages like the 50-billion-euro Ukraine Facility—the Union’s comprehensive financial instrument dedicated to supporting Ukraine’s recovery and EU accession—it has become clear that most LRAs are again last in line.

Ukraine’s LRAs have been on the front lines—not only of war, but of governance.

The Facility will channel only 4.76 billion euros under Pillar III for technical and administrative support in aid of EU accession and related measures. According to the official implementation plan, this funding will focus on harmonizing legislation with EU standards, implementing structural reforms, and building capacity at national, regional, and local levels. It also includes interest payments on loans, thus leaving less funding available for real capacity-building support at the local level.

These are important areas, but technical assistance alone is not enough. Without direct access to EU funds, Ukraine’s LRAs will remain dependent and disconnected from the very system they are expected to integrate into.

A Bold but Achievable Step

The solution is clear: the EU should establish a dedicated INTERREG program for Ukraine’s municipalities and regions. INTERREG—one of the EU’s most successful instruments for territorial cooperation—already includes more than 73 programs. Adding one specifically for Ukraine would send a strong political signal and deliver real capacity-building support.

This program should support joint projects between local and regional authorities in Ukraine and the EU, favoring international, decentralized cooperation. That model, which has become an EU-wide best practice, is already bearing fruit. Ukrainian municipalities have proven they can design and implement successful partnerships, even without a dedicated fund.

One example is the Tips4UA initiative, launched by the European Committee of the Regions and U-LEAD with Europe. This has mobilized LRAs in the EU, on a volunteer basis, to host Ukrainian counterparts for job-shadowing and capacity-building placements. A dedicated INTERREG program would not only sustain such efforts—it would significantly leverage their impact, making European integration real and practical at the local level.

Too often, the EU praises Ukraine’s decentralization but fails to reinforce it with financial incentives. Structural reforms require more than technical assistance; they require carrots—tangible benefits that encourage perseverance and deliver change. Direct funding mechanisms are not just about money; they are about empowering Ukraine’s local leaders to shape their future alongside their European peers.

This is not without precedent. EU pre-accession tools—such as the Instrument for Pre-Accession used for EU candidates including Turkey and Western Balkans countries—and macro-regional strategies have included mechanisms for local participation. Ukraine deserves the same approach, especially given the extraordinary circumstances it faces.

A Moment for European Leadership

The recent suspension of the U.S. government’s USAID aid to Ukraine effectively left multiple Ukraine municipalities’ infrastructure projects unfinished as contractors couldn’t be paid to carry on the projects. This has created a serious vacuum in local development support, creating precisely the moment for the European Union to step forward and demonstrate strategic leadership.

The EU has consistently championed Ukraine’s decentralization reform as a cornerstone of its democratic resilience. Now, it must match that recognition with concrete, direct support. Enabling Ukrainian local and regional authorities to access EU funds—not just through intermediaries, but directly—would send a powerful signal that the EU believes in their capacity, values their role, and sees them as essential actors in the country’s European future.

Europe’s strength has always rested on the vitality of its local democracy. If Ukraine is to be fully European, its municipalities must be empowered on equal terms. Let’s move beyond declarations. Let’s provide Ukraine’s cities and regions with the tools they need—now—to be part of Europe’s recovery, resilience, and long-term stability.

Khrystyna Kvartsiana is a ReThink.CEE fellow 2022 of the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

This article was first published by Transitions on June 2, 2025.