Ukrainian communities are vested with one of the main roles in the system of state functioning. Territorial communities plan, arrange, and provide various types of services to people in need. In the first days of the full-scale war, they resisted the aggressor and continue to do this today. Despite current challenges, some territorial communities, in addition to providing services to residents, help the Armed Forces of Ukraine, undertake active international activity, as well as restore the damaged infrastructure in their territories.
In November 2022, the Ukrainian army liberated the right-bank part of Kherson Oblast, which had been under occupation for almost nine months. In the territory of Kherson Oblast, controlled by Ukraine, there are currently 17 de-occupied communities with a total area of 6,830 sq. km. During their occupation, the infrastructure was damaged, particularly schools, hospitals, social centres, and administrative institutions, making it difficult or impossible for residents to access basic public services. In addition, the explosion at Kakhovka HPP in June 2023 caused at least USD 2 billion of direct losses, mostly within Kherson and Mykolaiv Oblasts. The explosion at Kakhovka HPP exposed almost 37,000 residential buildings, most of them in Kherson Oblast, to the risk of flooding. The explosion at Kakhovka HPP also damaged port terminals on both banks of the Dnieper and flooded roads in Kherson Oblast.
Another challenge is the loss of human resources that left affected territories. In some communities, more than 60% of residents left their homes during the occupation. The hostilities also led to the ruining of business property, which caused enterprises to either relocate or wind up their activities in Kherson Oblast.
Up to the present moment, constant shelling of the right-bank part of Kherson Oblast continues, which makes the provision of services in the communities difficult. Considering these problems and limited financial and human resources, there is a need to evaluate the availability and optimise public services for residents of the de-occupied territories of Kherson Oblast.
A study of the state of public services testified to the unique experience of de-occupied territorial communities of Kherson Oblast, which, despite the lack of financial and human resources, continue to provide residents with public services, engaging the support of various entities. By all means, the provision of services in each community varies depending on the security situation and available resources. Analysing and studying this experience is extremely important, as it will help aggregate it and prepare for possible challenges after the de-occupation of other regions of the country.
In addition, the study findings made it possible to develop recommendations for optimising public services in de-occupied communities in the current situation. In the future, they will help model the ability of territorial communities to function in full scope, taking into account a set of various indicators (in addition to public services, availability of infrastructure, financial resources, etc. shall be taken into account).
This research was prepared within the framework of the project “Parliamentary Accountability of the Security Sector in Ukraine (PASS Ukraine), which the Agency implements jointly with the Parliamentary Centre (Canada) in cooperation with the Verkhovna Rada and with the support of Global Affairs Canada within the framework of the Peace and Stabilization Operations Program (PSOPs).
