The President of Ukraine signed Law No. 9559-d “On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine on Expanding the Powers of Local Governments to Support the Security and Defence Sector of Ukraine”.

The document regulates a number of matters that, after the outbreak of full-scale war, had in fact already become part of local self-government practice, but had hitherto lacked a sufficiently clear legislative basis.

One of its key initiators and public proponents was Ukrainian MP Roman Lozynskyi, who consistently insisted on the need to legalise community support for the security and defence sector and to remove legal uncertainty for local governments.

‘From the very first days of the full-scale war, communities became part of Ukraine’s defence – not because they were told to, but out of a sense of responsibility. They responded to urgent needs where the state could not keep up: they bought pick-up trucks, drones and first-aid kits; they helped the military; they built fortifications; and in doing so, they saved lives. But the state cannot demand resilience from communities whilst simultaneously leaving them in a zone of legal uncertainty. Ultimately, communities will be able to respond to society’s needs and legally donate to the military from their own budgets – using their own resources to bring us closer to victory,’ said Roman Lozynskyi.

This primarily concerns the official right of local governments to provide financial and material support to the security and defence sector, to approve relevant local programmes, and to implement them through the executive bodies of the councils.

The law also legalises the possibility for communities to participate in the construction of fortifications and other defence structures within the limits of their powers.

Moreover, the document regulates the matter of combining posts for village, settlement and city mayors who simultaneously head the military administrations of localities, and clarifies certain aspects of the activities of regional councils under martial law.

As stated in the explanatory note to the draft law, its adoption aims to ‘expand the powers of local governments to provide financial and material support to the security and defence sector of Ukraine’ and to ensure the proper functioning of local self-government under martial law.

Ukrainian MP Dmytro Mykysha described the signing of the law as an important step for communities, which, since the outbreak of the war, have de facto become the rear base of the Ukrainian army.

‘Finally, this is the law. It formalises the cooperation between communities and the army that has been in place since the outbreak of the full-scale invasion. Communities were the first to meet the needs of the military, find resources, purchase equipment, support the troops, and defend the country when the state apparatus could not cope everywhere. The law states that this is not “unauthorised action” and that there can be no criminal prosecution. This is a legal part of Ukraine’s defence,’ noted Dmytro Mykysha.