Ivan Dyryv, mayor of the Dolyna City Territorial Community, was named the winner in the “Territorial Community Head of the Year” category of the 30th anniversary nationwide “Person of the Year 2025” program.
According to the program’s materials, Dyryv has led the Dolyna community since December 2020. According to the data provided, the community has a population of 48,600 people. The community’s development priorities include energy efficiency, infrastructure modernization, support for small and medium-sized businesses, the development of agricultural production, healthcare, and education, as well as attracting international partners and investments.
One of the community’s key areas of focus is energy sustainability. A number of energy-saving measures have been implemented in Dolyna, including the insulation of educational facilities, the modernization of heating systems, and the installation of solar collectors and solar power plants, some of which are equipped with energy storage systems.
According to information provided in the materials about the awardee, three solar power plants supply electricity to the municipal utility “Vodokanal.” One of them also sells surplus electricity.
The community is developing international cooperation, has 11 sister cities, and participates in cross-border and European projects. Other areas of economic development include industry, farming, and the production of eco-friendly products. In particular, the community grows blueberries on plantations covering a total area of about 100 hectares and is developing the production of artisanal ice cream made from goat’s milk.
Special attention is given to youth policy, tourism development, and the introduction of general aviation. The community operates the “Khyzhka” Youth Center.
Ivan Dyryv is an electrical engineer by profession. In 2014–2015, he served in the military under mobilization and participated in combat operations. Before being elected mayor, he served for over 14 years as a council member in Dolyna and the surrounding district.
According to the program’s materials, Dolyna also became the first city in Ukraine to receive a European certificate for energy-efficient management.
The nationwide “Person of the Year” program honors representatives from various fields for their professional achievements and contributions to the country’s development. Ivan Dyryv’s victory recognizes his work as head of the local community and the implementation of local initiatives in the areas of energy efficiency, economic development, and international cooperation.
Open4Business is an information partner of the nationwide “Person of the Year 2025” program.
community, ENERGY EFFICIENCY, Ivan Dyryv, PERSON OF THE YEAR, Долина
Oleksandr Symchyshyn, mayor of Khmelnytskyi, has been awarded the title of “Mayor of the Year (Large Cities)” in the 30th anniversary edition of the nationwide “Person of the Year 2025” program.
Symchyshyn has led Khmelnytskyi since 2015. He also serves as chairman of the Khmelnytskyi regional branch of the Association of Ukrainian Cities.
Supporting the Ukrainian Armed Forces remains one of the key priorities for the Khmelnytskyi community amid the full-scale war. In recent years, the city has consistently ranked among the leaders in the volume of such assistance, according to various rankings. Local authorities also devote significant attention to veteran and social policies.
Based on the results for 2025, the Khmelnytskyi City Territorial Community took first place in the “Best Social Community” competition.
Transparency in governance remains a priority for city officials. The Khmelnytskyi community received the national award “For Consistency in Open Governance,” and according to research by Transparency International Ukraine’s “Transparent Cities” program, Khmelnytskyi was included in the list of cities with high transparency scores, particularly in the financial and budgetary spheres.
At the same time, the city continues to modernize its public infrastructure. According to data provided by the program’s organizers, nearly 90% of Khmelnytskyi’s trolleybus and bus fleet has been updated, and 44 new trolleybuses have entered service over the past year.
Another major infrastructure initiative has been the modernization of the waste management system. Khmelnytskyi is implementing a comprehensive project designed to transform the system for collecting, sorting, and recycling municipal waste.
The community is paying special attention to energy sustainability and the development of distributed generation. The “2 MWe of Sun” project for the municipal utility “Khmelnytskyi Vodokanal” won the 100 gREen AWARD-2025. In 2025, the Khmelnytskyi community also joined the European Energy Award program.
Khmelnytskyi’s international ties are actively expanding. The community is developing partnerships with Stuttgart and Dresden in Germany, and in 2025 received the “Best Practice 2025” award from the U-LEAD with Europe program.
A new direction in international cooperation was the establishment of a sister-city relationship with the American city of Tampa, Florida. The parties signed not only a main partnership agreement but also cooperation agreements in several areas.
In particular, Khmelnytskyi and Tampa plan to develop cooperation in the fields of business and investment, education, renewable energy, healthcare, digitalization, and culture. For Khmelnytskyi, the partnership with one of Florida’s major economic centers opens up additional opportunities to attract international projects and investments.
Oleksandr Symchyshyn was born on November 4, 1980, in the village of Yosypivka in the Khmelnytskyi region. He graduated from the History Department of the Kamianets-Podilskyi State Pedagogical University, completed graduate studies, and defended his dissertation, earning a Candidate of Historical Sciences degree.
The nationwide “Person of the Year” program has been held in Ukraine since 1995 and honors representatives from various spheres of public, economic, cultural, and professional life. “Person of the Year 2025” marks the program’s 30th anniversary.
Open4Business is the information partner of the nationwide “Person of the Year” program.
community, KHMELNYTSKYI, local self-government, PERSON OF THE YEAR, Олександр Симчишин
On September 10, 2026, the Switzerland-Ukraine Municipal Cooperation Forum was held in Basel, focusing on the development of partnerships between Ukrainian and Swiss cities and the implementation of joint projects to rebuild and strengthen the resilience of communities, according to the Embassy of Ukraine to the Swiss Confederation and the Principality of Liechtenstein.
The forum brought together representatives of central and local authorities from Ukraine and Switzerland, as well as relevant organizations from both countries. It was jointly organized by the Swiss government, the cities of Basel, Bern, and Zurich, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Embassy of Ukraine in Switzerland, the Ukrainian Association of Switzerland, and the Support and Recovery Platform.
Konradin Kramer, President of the Government of the Canton of Basel-Stadt; Iryna Venediktova, Ambassador of Ukraine to Switzerland; Vitaliy Bezgin, Minister of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine; and Jacques Herber, the Swiss Federal Council’s delegate for Ukraine, delivered welcoming remarks to the participants.
Under the slogan “Building Partnerships. Achieving Results,” participants discussed the transition from inter-municipal contacts to specific investment and infrastructure projects. The main areas of cooperation identified were energy supply and energy efficiency, water infrastructure, local governance, and the development of public services.
The forum’s program included two panel discussions—one on the political foundations of municipal partnerships in reconstruction and the other on practical models for implementing such projects. Separate City Labs working sessions were held, during which representatives of Ukrainian and Swiss cities jointly developed specific proposals for further cooperation.
Municipal partnerships are one of the areas of Switzerland’s long-term support for Ukraine. The Swiss cooperation program with Ukraine for 2025–2028 specifically provides for support to local and regional authorities in the reconstruction and modernization of urban infrastructure and the provision of basic services, particularly in the areas of transportation, energy, water supply, healthcare, and education.
Swiss cities are already participating in practical projects in Ukraine. In particular, Basel is transferring up to 25 trams to Lviv as part of a program that Switzerland is funding with CHF 2.5 million from 2024 to 2028. Previously, Bern also donated trams to Ukraine.
Switzerland views the development of direct ties between cities as one of the mechanisms for Ukraine’s reconstruction. The country’s national program notes that Vinnytsia, Odesa, Sumy, and Kharkiv, among others, have previously expressed interest in partnerships with Swiss cities.
Holding the forum in Basel is intended to facilitate the transition from general agreements between communities to specific joint projects that can leverage Swiss technology, municipal expertise, and funding for the reconstruction of Ukraine’s infrastructure.
Local budgets received 28.8 billion UAH in land tax revenues for January–July 2026, which is 13% higher than the figure for the same period in 2025 (25.5 billion UAH).
According to a report published by the State Tax Service (STS) on its website on Thursday, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast led in the volume of revenues to local budgets, with taxpayers contributing 5.3 billion UAH. Significant revenues were also received by the budgets of Kyiv (4 billion UAH), Odesa Oblast (2.5 billion UAH), and Lviv Oblast (2.1 billion UAH).
Land tax is a mandatory local tax paid by owners of land plots, land shares, and permanent land users. For individuals, tax assessments are issued by tax authorities, and payment must be made within 60 days of receiving the tax assessment notice. Legal entities calculate the tax themselves and file returns annually by February 20.
Land tax exemptions are available to retirees, individuals with Group I and II disabilities, war veterans, large families, and individuals affected by the Chernobyl disaster. The exemption applies within the established limits on land plot area. The State Tax Service emphasizes that the obligation to pay the tax remains with the owner even if no notice is received, and the status of payments can be checked through the taxpayer’s online account.
As of the end of June, state-owned Oschadbank had formed a pipeline of 32 municipal projects with a total value of EUR74 million, according to Natalia Butkova-Vitvitska, a member of the bank’s board responsible for micro, small, and medium-sized businesses, during the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC 2026) in Gdańsk.
Of these, 26 projects are planned for small towns and villages in the small and medium-sized business segment, while another six are for large regional centers in the corporate segment.
The projects focus, in particular, on modernizing water supply and wastewater systems, upgrading public transportation and municipal infrastructure, improving the energy efficiency of buildings, restoring social facilities, and strengthening the energy resilience of communities.
According to Butkova-Vitvitskaya, one of the main constraints on municipal financing remains the inadequate preparation of projects. Communities need technical assistance in developing feasibility studies, conducting energy audits, assessing ESG risks, and preparing projects for bank financing.
She believes that international risk-sharing mechanisms for infrastructure and energy projects should be designed for a term of at least 10 years, while financing for communities should be available for up to 20 years.
Among other necessary measures, the Oschadbank representative cited the simplification of procurement procedures, the expansion of grant programs, the provision of guarantees by the government and international financial organizations, and training for municipal teams.
According to the bank, about 1,000 of more than 1,400 Ukrainian communities are creditworthy. The total volume of municipal borrowing in recent years has reached nearly EUR2.7 billion, of which EUR1.1 billion came from the domestic market and over EUR1.6 billion from international financial organizations.
Oschadbank estimates its share of the municipal lending market at approximately 39%.
According to the National Bank, as of May 1, 2026, Oschadbank, with total assets of 534.47 billion UAH, ranked second among the country’s 58 solvent banks.
