Ukraine’s Association of Frontline Communities Expands as 30 More Municipalities Join

Ukraine’s Association of Frontline Cities and Communities continues to expand, with 30 additional municipalities from six regions joining the network.

Local councils in these communities have recently approved decisions to become members or formally expressed their intention to join. Since September 2025, the Association has grown to include 330 communities across 11 regions.

New members include Ivankiv and Poliske in Kyiv region, Pivdennoukrainsk in Mykolaiv region, Reni in Odesa region, and the border community of Velyka Pysarivka in Sumy region, along with others from Sumy, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, and Chernihiv regions. Their accession was approved by the Association’s board during an online meeting on May 1, 2026, chaired by Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov.

The growing number of members reflects increasing demand for coordination among communities facing the daily impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Members of the Association work together to address shared challenges linked to security, economic disruption, and population displacement.

The Association has already secured several policy gains, including higher payments for teachers and healthcare workers, the restoration of monthly payments of 3,000 hryvnias for displaced children, the retention of an additional 4 percent of personal income tax revenues at the local level, and a delay in the introduction of VAT requirements for small businesses.

It has also submitted a package of proposals to the Ukrainian government for the national strategy on internally displaced persons through 2030. Work is currently underway on a second support package focused specifically on frontline territories.

The Association says its continued expansion strengthens its ability to advocate for communities directly affected by the war and to shape national policy responses.