Over the past month, a series of eight meetings of the Working Groups on Public Safety and Recovery were held in the Kherson region in six target communities - Bilozerka, Chornobayivka, Vysokopillia, Kochubeivka, Stanislav, and Novovorontsovka, as well as in the Velykooleksandrivka community, which has just joined the work. These meetings, organized in a mixed or online format, are part of the ongoing cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other partners to support public safety, social cohesion, and the recovery of territories.
The following key issues for the communities were considered at the meetings:
The general security situation in the communities remains tense due to active hostilities, artillery shelling, and drone attacks in all communities. In some communities, such as Stanislav, the situation is critical, making it impossible for services and the movement of the population to function normally. However, in the Vysokopillia community, a decrease in property crimes and fraud was noted. The level of road accidents remains high throughout the region, and the number of cases of domestic violence and fraud, especially telephone and Internet fraud, which is a national problem, is increasing.
Current initiatives' implementation process and challenges: progress in implementing projects funded by UNDP and other donors was discussed.
In particular, in the Bilozerka community, the installation of video surveillance systems and a veterans' hub arrangement are at the final stage.
The Chornobayivka community has purchased a quadcopter for the police, a sports field is being equipped in Kyselivka, and work on the arrangement in Blagodatne is being completed.
In Vysokopillia, road signs, speed bumps, and an alert system are installed.
The Kochubeyivka community continues to install a video surveillance system.
In the Stanislav community, drone detectors were obtained, but most previous initiatives were postponed or canceled due to the security situation.
The Novovorontsovka community is implementing initiatives to install video surveillance cameras, improve road safety, and set up a resource hub.
Presentation of the results of a study of migration attitudes of the Kherson region residents abroad: a survey conducted in April-May 2025 showed that despite a strong emotional attachment to their home, rational arguments increasingly influence the decision to return.
More about the study here.
Key factors in the "pros" of return are owning housing (if it is not destroyed), regular work, high social status in Ukraine, the possibility of reunification with relatives, and an accessible medical system.
Key "cons" return factors include destroyed housing, lack of transparent compensation mechanisms, and higher and more stable wages abroad. Also important is the successful integration of children and their learning of foreign languages, which creates reintegration problems into the Ukrainian education system.
Planned initiatives and future steps
This year, funding has decreased slightly due to the suspension of American funding, but this is enough to implement critical initiatives.
At the meetings, a vote was held on priority initiatives that reflect the current needs of each community:
The Chornobaivka community: drone detectors and a youth sports/leisure space arrangement received excellent support.
The Kochubeivka community: initiatives related to road safety (road signs, speed bumps, spherical mirrors, street names) and the arrangement of a youth zone with mobile music equipment were identified as priorities.
The Stanislav community: Due to the extremely difficult security situation, a package of security measures was agreed upon, including firefighting equipment (fire extinguishers, sprinklers, thermal protective suits), radios (Motorola), drone detectors, and night vision cameras for cars.
The Novovorontsovka community: the leaders of the vote were summer sports spaces and a comprehensive security project (drone detectors, night vision cameras, a drone for the community police officer).
The Vysokopillia and Velykooleksandrivka communities: although there was no direct vote on the mini-initiatives, the discussion revealed a wide range of needs that will be considered when preparing grant applications. These include: modular shelters, provision of security officers in educational institutions, development of resource centers, road safety measures, sports and playgrounds, accessibility of medical infrastructure, barrier-free access, "green rooms" for working with children, training of specialists in working with veterans and youth leaders, as well as solving the problem of public transport.
Conclusions and prospects
The working groups continue to serve as dialogue platforms, where current problems are discussed and ways to solve them are sought, as well as opportunities for involvement and resources. All ideas recorded, even those not supported by UNDP, can justify appeals to other donor organizations.
Despite the reduction in funding from some donors (e.g., USAID), cooperation with UNDP and other governments, such as Denmark and the EU, remains stable. An important vector of work remains the development of human capital through training and improving the competence of community specialists in project management, working with veterans, youth, and public communication.
The planned workshops on migration will allow communities to develop strategies for the possible return of the population and maintaining contact with those abroad, despite the complexity and ambiguity of this topic.
Overall, the meetings confirmed that the deoccupied communities of the Kherson region are ready to continue working selflessly for recovery and development even in constant threat conditions.
As a reminder the WGPSR in the communities was created in the summer 2023 by orders of the heads of the military administrations within the framework of the initiative "Kherson region: public safety and recovery in conditions of change", implemented by the Union Foundation with the assistance of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Ukraine with the financial support of the Government of Denmark.
