Kyiv, 2 March 2023 – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will soon begin large-scale restoration on 18 multi-storied apartment buildings in Kyiv Oblast, according to new Memoranda of Understanding the organization has signed with the Ministry for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine and the Kyiv Regional State Administration. The funding in the amount of US$18 million will come from the "Destroyed Property and Infrastructure Restoration Fund" of the UNITED24 crowdsourcing platform, which was launched by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy as the country’s main venue for collecting charitable donations.

The restoration work will incorporate UNDP’s “build forward better” principles to improve thermal modernization to reduce energy consumption and the carbon footprint of the region. It also will contribute to improved local governance, transparency and accountability through quality assurance support at all stages of planning, procurement, implementation, and monitoring. Specific initiatives will be undertaken to strengthen the capacity of local authorities and local self-government bodies in managing the engineering, financing, anti-corruption, environmental and social aspects associated with large-scale restoration works.

Oleksandr Kubrakov, Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration of Ukraine and Minister for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine said that transparency and accountability are the fundamental principles for recovery. "Without the involvement of international partners the effective restoration of the affected areas is impossible," he said. "Today we have the first example of the systematic involvement of international partners in the reconstruction process – and that includes specific cooperation in planning, procurement, implementation and monitoring of rebuilding projects."

UNDP Resident Representative in Ukraine Jaco Cilliers said UNDP views recovery not just as an exercise to put the pieces back together, but as an opportunity to build forward better in a way that makes the country more resilient. “It is also a chance for UNDP to continue its work in Ukraine of taking global best practices of development and applying them to the local context,” he said. “This can include everything from leveraging advances in digitalization for planning purposes to promoting transparency and accountability.”

Deputy Head of Kyiv Regional State Administration Mykola Boiko said more than 24,000 residential buildings throughout Kyiv Oblast have been damaged by shelling. “Through these projects, we will be able to return housing and, most importantly, hope for a happy future to more than 4,000 residents of Kyiv region. I am thankful to our partners and all the ambassadors of the "UNITED24" platform for helping the dreams of these people come true," he said.

Media enquiries: Yuliia Samus, UNDP Ukraine Head of Communications; e-mail: yuliia.samus@undp.org