Oleksii Kuleba: Spatial development plans of communities are a component for their long-term development and transparent recovery

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration of Ukraine – Minister for Communities and Territories Development Oleksii Kuleba met with the heads of local communities and districts of Zakarpattia region.

The main topics of the meeting included the participation of local authorities in the work on the internal Strengthening Plan. Particular attention was paid to security guarantees for Ukraine from its allies, integration with the EU and NATO, and the dialogue between the Hungarian community in Zakarpattia and Hungary.

“Thank you for supporting the army, our people, and for accepting many relocated businesses. During the war, we have to work to support not only the defence capability of our country, but also the citizens of Ukraine. Thank you for supporting people in your communities,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

In his turn, Oleksii Kuleba, Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration of Ukraine and Minister for Communities and Territories Development, noted that at the request of the communities, the Ministry’s website published an explanation on the application of urban planning documentation from 1 January 2025 and the development of plans.

“This documentation will allow us to plan the long-term development of all communities and the transparent recovery of those affected by the war,” he said.

Oleksii Kuleba added that the development of border infrastructure and the capacity of mountainous communities remained important areas.

“The capacity of mountainous communities is a crucial issue for Zakarpattia, as the region is becoming one of the country’s economic centres and is now a leader in the number of relocated businesses. Therefore, we must help communities to be capable of socio-economic development. We agreed here that communities, together with regional administrations, will work out an appeal to the Government to develop planning schemes for the mountainous areas of the Carpathians,” he said.

Earlier, the Deputy Prime Minister said that work was already underway on new border crossing points in Zakarpattia to help businesses and relieve the existing crossings.