Vitalii Bezgin, Ukraine’s Minister for Communities, Territories and Internally Displaced Persons, told an Ukrinform correspondent on the sidelines of the 51st session of the Council of Europe’s Congress of Local and Regional Authorities in Strasbourg.
“Representatives of Spain have already expressed their readiness to help under existing interregional agreements. We discussed buses, and they are ready to provide them. We also discussed generator deliveries. The basis for such assistance could be the agreements Catalonia signed with three Ukrainian regions earlier this autumn. These are memorandums with Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, and Lviv regions,” Bezgin said.
According to him, regional transport needs are growing because of continued Russian attacks. “In Kherson alone, losses of municipal vehicles amount to two per day,” he said.
The ministry also aims to expand direct partnerships between Ukrainian regions and regions in Council of Europe member states.
Bezgin identified French regions as active partners, highlighting their cooperation with Kharkiv region. In particular, the Kharkiv Regional Council has a partnership with France’s Grand Est region, through which communities receive generators among other assistance.
At the same time, Bezgin said eastern regions have fewer partnerships because of more complicated logistics.
“Our communities and regions have established the most ties with Poland, while cooperation with Czechia, Slovakia, and Austria needs to be intensified. Another effective mechanism we are proposing here is for partner countries to take responsibility for supporting the recovery of specific regions. There are already examples: Estonia’s support for Zhytomyr region, Denmark’s for Mykolaiv region, and Belgium’s for Chernihiv region,” he said.
In return, Ukraine offers partners its own expertise, particularly in defense technologies and the management of territories during combat operations.
According to Bezgin, European representatives are interested in meeting directly with Ukrainian manufacturers to discuss investment opportunities and business development.
Read also: Poltava region receives over 130 generators from GermanyThere is also demand for practical experience in local self-government during wartime. Bezgin said a delegation of 16 Lithuanian mayors had recently sought information on legislative preparations, reserve formation, and the organization of community governance in the event of military threats. Other Baltic states, Finland, Poland, and Norway have shown similar interest, he added.
“We also plan to present a dedicated section on managing territories in active combat zones at the next Ukraine Recovery Conference, URC 2027, in Tallinn,” Bezgin said.
As Ukrinform previously reported, following the publication of Unbreakable Kherson, the Kherson Regional Military Administration plans to publish three more thematic guides compiling the experience of Ukraine’s regions and relevant ministries in keeping communities functioning during the war.
