876 amalgamated hromadas is a quantitative summary of capable hromadas’ formation in 2018, which became the fourth year of voluntary amalgamation of hromadas. It is evidenced by the data of the is the monitoring of the process of decentralization and reform of local self-government Monitoring of decentralisation and local self-government reform process, prepared by MinRegion as of 10 January 2019.

However, 69 hromadas out of the total number are waiting for the Central Election Commission's decision to appoint the first local elections, including those hromadas, where elections were not held as a result of the martial law introduced in certain oblasts from 26 November till 26 December 2018. Earlier, Vyacheslav Nehoda, First Deputy Minister of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Communal Services, informed that there were no obstacles, including legislative ones, to the appointment of local elections in these AHs, and expressed the hope that in the nearest future the CEC would make its decision on these hromadas.

2018 was also marked by the opportunity to form AHs with centres in cities of oblast significance. 24 of such hromadas were established last year. MinRegion previously informed that 142 cities of oblast significance are foreseen in the perspective plans for the formation of hromadas’ territories as centres of amalgamated hromadas. The Ministry expects that in 2019, cities of oblast significance and their neighbouring hromadas will intensify the process of capable AHs’ formation.

According to the monitoring data, 9 million Ukrainians live in AHs. By comparison, in 2015, when the process of capable hromadas’ formation began, the population of AHs (and then their number was 159) was 1.4 million people.

MinRegion considers such dynamics positive, however, notes there is still a lot of work ahead. Nearly 7,000 local councils have not yet become part of amalgamated hromadas.