Under the leadership of the Vice Prime Minister for the Recovery of Ukraine — Minister of Community and Territorial Development Oleksiy Kuleba, the Ministry of Development is shaping a modern regional policy taking into account the challenges of war and European standards. The direction is coordinated by Deputy Minister Oleksiy Ryabikin.
Over the past year, an Action Plan for 2025–2027 has been approved for the implementation of the State Regional Development Strategy for 2021–2027. Significant attention has been paid to strategic planning at the local level: 22 regional strategies have been updated, and 95% of communities have already completed or are completing the development of their own development strategies.
One of the key steps has been the transformation of the public investment system. For the first time, a Unified Project Portfolio for 2026 has been formed, which includes 131 projects and 64 programs, all of which are available in the DREAM system.
“The completion of the joint screening of Ukrainian legislation with the European Commission under Section 22 ‘Regional Policy’ is a key step in Ukraine's integration into the EU.”
A separate focus in 2025 was the formation of a policy regarding temporarily occupied territories and ensuring a proper evacuation process from front-line areas. The update of the relevant legislation is ongoing, a dashboard for the placement of evacuated people has been implemented, and a State Policy Strategy for Internally Displaced Persons until 2027 has been prepared.
Plans for 2026
Improving strategic planning for regional development, comprehensive support for front-line territories, creating a regional development assessment system, conducting 100+ training sessions on EU Cohesion Policy and RIM reform, expanding international partnerships, pilot projects for the creation of agglomerations, developing DREAM for SPI and unified project portfolios at all levels and monitoring projects, implementing a geo-information system as a key data source for regional and local development.
The 'Shoulder to Shoulder' project will focus on institutional capacity building for communities, international cooperation, and attracting additional resources for recovery. The main priority of state regional policy remains unchanged — strong communities, a united country, and sustainable development even in wartime.
In 2025, the Ministry of Development team worked fruitfully on strategic planning for regional development, implementing new projects and programs, as well as forming policies for temporarily occupied territories. The upcoming year promises to be full of events and reforms aimed at supporting communities and strengthening regional development in Ukraine.