Slovakia-Ukraine Local Solidarity Forum brought together the local self-government of two countries around the challenges of martial law.

The event was organised by the ULEAD with Europe Programme together with the Association of Cities and Communities of Slovakia. It featured Ukrainian and Slovak municipalities, local NGOs and volunteer movements, representatives of local business communities that have supported or would like to support Ukraine, as well as representatives of the embassies of Ukraine and Slovakia.

They focused on the needs of the occupied territories today and after Ukraine’s victory in the war.

Viacheslav Nehoda, Deputy Minister for Communities and Territorial Development, thanked the Slovak people for their strong support of Ukrainian municipalities and citizens who found themselves in difficult situations due to russia’s war against Ukraine.

“Slovakia has taken a principled stand and has supported Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the russian federation. Slovak municipalities and the Slovak people fully support Ukraine and the citizens of our country in the struggle for freedom, recognising that this is the struggle for our common freedom and the common values of a free, united Europe. We are grateful for Slovakia’s readiness to continue to support Ukraine, including active cooperation between local and regional authorities,” the Deputy Minister said.

He noted that municipalities are crucial to the Ukrainian resistance in wartime, and their cooperation helped to restore the country’s economic potential. According to Viacheslav Nehoda, local self-governments of Ukraine make great efforts to perform their daily tasks, ensuring the proper functioning of the public service system, accepting IDPs and organising assistance to municipalities where hostilities continue, proving their resilience and overcoming challenges every day.

At the same time, the Deputy Minister focused on the priority challenges faced by the local self-government:

• Recovery of the economic capacity of municipalities by supporting businesses under martial law;
• Providing living conditions for internally displaced persons and assisting in their employment.

In general, local self-governments are currently under a heavy burden, and municipalities need financial support to meet the above challenges.

Viacheslav Nehoda also stated that with each passing day of the war, the needs of the local self-government are becoming more acute and require quality solutions. According to him, the Government of Ukraine together with the Parliament are continuously working to improve the legislation for local self-government to fit the situation. The Ministry for Communities and Territorial Development determines the main directions of capacity building and economic growth of municipalities in cooperation with them.

The Deputy Minister focused on ensuring the priority measures for the restoration of critical infrastructure. At the same time, there is a pressing issue of providing housing for Ukrainian citizens who have lost it.

“Hundreds of thousands of people have been left homeless. They have nowhere to go. We appreciate the help of countries that have already been able to provide temporary housing for civilians today. At the same time, we understand that people whose homes have been destroyed by russia need adequate long-term housing where they can feel at home again,” the Deputy Minister said.