During her one-day visit on August 15, the Secretary-General of UN Tourism, Sheikha Nasser Al-Nuwais, expressed her support for the Ukrainian people and announced a series of international initiatives to support tourism in Ukraine; She cited medical tourism, IT, and digital technologies as promising areas for development, according to a statement from the press service of the State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine (SATD) to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
“Ukraine should leverage its strengths, such as medical tourism, IT, and digital technologies, as these are precisely what will enable it to establish a solid foundation for attracting foreign tourists in the future. Bringing together all stakeholders in the tourism sector and the government under one roof can offer great potential,” noted Sheikha Al-Nuwais, whose remarks were quoted in the statement.
She noted that ten years have passed since the Secretary-General of UN Tourism last visited Ukraine, and this visit is an opportunity to renew the partnership “and look to the future together.”
“Recovery efforts cannot wait for peace to arrive. They begin right now. UNESCO and UN Tourism. Culture and tourism. Side by side with Ukraine. The path to the future belongs to Ukraine. But Ukraine will not walk it alone. UN Tourism will be by its side. And our work begins right now,” emphasized Sheikha Al-Nuwais.
During the meeting with representatives of the industry and the innovation and technology community, the Secretary-General of UN Tourism paid special attention to international coordination and the exchange of experiences regarding the recovery of the tourism sectors after the crisis. Potential areas of cooperation include the safety of tourist destinations, accessibility, barrier-free travel, and inclusivity.
In turn, GART Chairwoman Natalia Tabaka noted that this visit demonstrates that Ukraine remains on the global tourism radar and that its recovery is a key focus of the international agenda.
“For us today, tourism is first and foremost about preserving and restoring people—their emotional and physical well-being—strengthening identity, and supporting communities. And we are grateful for the support shown to Ukraine and for the willingness to stand by us during this historic time for us,” Tabaka said.
During the visit, UNWTO announced a special category of its “Safe Destinations Challenge” initiative for Ukraine. This initiative provides technical support to member states in five different regions, one of which is Ukraine. The initiative aims to find innovative solutions for the safety, resilience, and recovery of tourist destinations, especially following periods of crisis and disasters, according to the statement.
“Amid a full-scale war, the Ukrainian tourism sector has learned to operate under constant risks—from air raid alerts and missile attacks to evacuations, crisis communications, and ensuring people’s safety. It is precisely this extensive experience that can serve as the foundation for new international solutions in the field of safe and sustainable tourism,” noted Sheikha Al-Nuwais.
As part of her visit, the UN Tourism Secretary-General visited two UNESCO World Heritage sites—St. Sophia Cathedral and the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra—where she took part in celebrations marking the Lavra’s 975th anniversary.
Sheikha Al-Nuwais also presented awards to the winners of the UN Tourism “Best Tourist Villages of Ukraine” competition for 2024 and 2025. Specifically, the awards went to the Kolochava community (Zakarpattia Oblast) and the Urych community (Lviv Oblast).
The European Union has transferred an additional 30 million euros to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund, thereby increasing its total contribution to the fund to 279 million euros, according to Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy Denys Shmyhal.
“The funds received through this financial instrument are helping us restore energy infrastructure damaged by Russian attacks, purchase urgently needed equipment for our energy companies, and ensure a reliable energy supply, first and foremost for critical infrastructure,” – Shmyhal was quoted as saying by the Ministry of Energy’s press service on its Telegram channel on Saturday.
In Ukraine, accessibility is increasingly viewed not as a formal requirement for infrastructure, but as a systemic prerequisite for veterans and people with disabilities to return to active life, work, education, and participation in community development.
This is discussed in an article on the Events.org.ua platform dedicated to the All-Ukrainian Accessibility Week, which took place in May 2026.
The initiative arose from the personal experience of veteran Vadym Honcharenko, call sign “Kinolog,” who uses a wheelchair after being wounded. His son, Artem Goncharenko, and the project team emphasize that for people with disabilities, barriers include not only obvious obstacles but also dozens of small design choices in urban spaces: stairs with no alternative, dangerous ramps, curbs, narrow doors, a lack of elevators, or improperly designed tactile paving.
According to the organizers, it is precisely this experience that shows accessibility cannot be achieved through a “trial-and-error” approach by people with disabilities themselves. Every flawed architectural or service-related decision can pose a risk of falls, injuries, additional pain, or complications for them.
As part of the All-Ukrainian Accessibility Week, the focus was not on declarations but on practical actions. The initiative was joined by Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture, Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, Ivan Pul’uj Ternopil National Technical University, National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, the National University of Physical Education and Sports of Ukraine, the Drohobych National Pedagogical University, the Kyiv City Employment Service, the KNUBA Institute for Veterans, the Veterans Cluster of Ukraine, the Agency for the Reconstruction of Ukraine, business partners, and civil society organizations.
In May and June, a training course titled “Rights of People with Disabilities” also began; the organizers stated that its goal was not only to raise awareness but also to change approaches to decision-making. The program emphasized non-discriminatory procedures, appropriate communication, and a practical understanding of the needs of people with disabilities.
A separate module was dedicated to assessing the accessibility of urban spaces. On May 26, in the Teremky-2 neighborhood, participants, together with people in wheelchairs, followed actual routes to identify where formal accessibility measures were failing and which solutions required immediate change. Based on the results of this work, preliminary design solutions for KNUBA and NUFVSU were developed in collaboration with the Mlyn group of companies and the Shaw architectural firm.
Another area of focus was the topic of Smart City. The organizers emphasize that a smart city without accessibility becomes a service available only to a portion of its residents. Therefore, digital solutions, navigation, transportation, and urban services must be designed with the needs of veterans, people with disabilities, older adults, parents with children, and other population groups in mind.
A separate training session was held for employees of Kyiv’s Administrative Service Centers (ASC) on working with veterans and people with disabilities, crisis communication, and the use of AI tools in service delivery. The organizers also identified the following training areas: safety and first aid.
Neurologist Denys Boichuk led practical training sessions on first aid and how to respond to epileptic seizures. Participants in the initiative emphasize that accessibility applies not only to physical spaces but also to people’s readiness to act appropriately in critical situations.
According to the organizers, Ukraine already possesses the expertise, partnerships, and practical experience needed to develop an accessible environment; however, such efforts cannot be limited to isolated events. They must become an integral part of daily decision-making in the areas of management, education, architecture, and services.
The article also notes that the “Architecture of Resilience” Veterans Institute at KNUBA and the Veterans Cluster of Ukraine continue to develop educational opportunities for veterans, defenders, and their family members. These include training, retraining, courses, second higher education, master’s programs, doctoral studies, psychological support, rehabilitation, and participation in projects aimed at Ukraine’s recovery.
Partner universities in the initiative include KNUBA, the National University of Physical Education and Sports of Ukraine, the Western Ukrainian National University, Poltava Polytechnic, the Precarpathian National University, NUBiP, the Drohobych Pedagogical University, Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, Ivan Pul’uj Ternopil National Technical University, and the University of Educational Management.
The organizers emphasize that “tuition-free education” refers to participation in state compensation programs, grants, scholarships, and support from employers. Admissions take place during the standard dates of the main admissions campaign.
The All-Ukrainian Accessibility Week demonstrated that, for post-war Ukraine, accessibility should not be a separate social initiative, but rather an integral part of economic recovery, the labor market, education, urban planning, and service policy. Given the number of veterans and people returning to civilian life after injuries, such decisions will have a direct impact on employment, quality of life, and communities’ capacity for recovery.
accessibility, BARRIER-FREE, disability, GONCHARENKO, RECOVERY, ветеран
More than EUR20 million is expected to be raised for JSC “Ukrzaliznytsia” during the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC 2026) as part of the business component, which will involve the signing of certain documents, Deputy Prime Minister for Recovery and Minister of Community and Territorial Development Oleksiy Kuleba said in an interview with the “Interfax-Ukraine” news agency.
According to him, the ministry, as part of its resilience efforts, will present situation centers that have been deployed throughout the country. These are centers where dispatchers coordinate air raid alerts or any other threats online 24/7, making decisions regarding the suspension of trains, the evacuation of people, or changes to freight routes.
“This is very serious work that helps us minimize damage and save the lives of passengers and employees, despite constant attacks,” Kuleba emphasized.
The Deputy Prime Minister for Recovery also noted that Ukrzaliznytsia and the port sector are bearing the brunt of the impact amid constant enemy shelling.
“The Russians are doing this entirely deliberately, knowing that in this way they can destroy our export potential so that we cannot ship out what we produce,” Kuleba stressed.
Earlier reports indicated that since the beginning of this year alone, the enemy has launched more than 1,500 attack drones at Ukrainian ports.
In addition, since the start of the full-scale invasion, 966 port infrastructure facilities and more than 200 civilian vessels have been damaged or destroyed.
Furthermore, 257 civilians have been injured or killed as a result of attacks on Ukrainian ports.
“Ukrzaliznytsia,” for its part, noted that during the first quarter of 2026, the enemy carried out 541 strikes on railway infrastructure and rolling stock.
The Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC 2026) will take place on June 25–26 in Gdańsk, Poland. The Ukrainian delegation will be led by Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine is planning to approve a new procedure for using state support funds for industrial parks in the next week or two with an additional program for receiving monetary compensation for infrastructure damaged by Russian attacks in the amount of up to UAH 200 million, Deputy Minister of Economy Vitaliy Kindrativ said.
“In the near future, we will come up with a new procedure for the use of funds, which will include an additional program for receiving compensation for damaged infrastructure in industrial parks. That is, if there was a Russian attack, something was lost or destroyed, the state will be able to give you up to UAH 200 million to restore the infrastructure. I think it will be adopted by the government in a week or two, and we will soon receive applications,” he said during the annual Eco-Industrial Parks Conference in Kyiv on Friday.
He expressed hope that there will be few applications for restoration, but reminded that there are already “two bad cases, and it is on them that we have developed this mechanism of support from the state for those who suffered.”
Mr. Kindrativ also noted that the incentives provided by the state for the development of industrial parks are enough to develop a network of them.
“For our part, we see one big gap that we have been working on for two years now, and we hope to achieve results – a program to support and develop the capacity of IPs, management companies, and participants. That is, it is not enough to create and register an IP, it is necessary to fill it with appropriate meanings and tools, to bring in residents and give it life, and this requires additional competence and those who create the park do not always have it,” said the Deputy Minister of Economy.
According to him, launching this program this year is one of the government’s priorities.
Mr. Kindrativ also reminded that Ukraine is probably the only country in the world that has developed and approved the standard of an eco-industrial park at the state level.
“And it seems to me that for businesses that are planning and looking towards industrial parks, this is a good beacon of what they should do to develop in this direction,” he summarized.
As reported, as of the end of 2025, 37 industrial enterprises were built or under construction in Ukrainian industrial parks, of which 22 plants have already been built and 15 are under construction.
Currently, the Register of Industrial Parks includes more than 113 objects. Industrial parks are part of the investment component of the Made in Ukraine policy for the development of Ukrainian producers.
In October 2025, for example, a Russian missile destroyed the Sparrow Industrial Park in Lviv.
The EIP Ukraine 2026 conference is being implemented as a flagship national event within the framework of the Global Eco-Industrial Parks Program II – Ukraine: National Implementation (GEIPP-II Ukraine) project.
https://interfax.com.ua/news/economic/1147910.html
The updated Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA5) showed $13.9 billion in losses and $33.5 billion needed to restore education and science in Ukraine, according to the Ministry of Education and Science.
“The education and science sectors have also suffered significant losses. Total losses are estimated at $13.9 billion and cover the infrastructure and assets of all subsectors, from preschool education to scientific institutions,” the ministry said in a statement.
It is noted that the most damage was recorded in scientific infrastructure, higher education institutions, and schools, particularly in the Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Sumy, Chernihiv, Kyiv, Luhansk, and Donetsk regions, as well as in the city of Kyiv.
“For the complete restoration and reconstruction of the education and science sector for 2026-2035, the total need is estimated at $33.5 billion,” the ministry added.
The priority areas for support are: reconstruction of educational institutions; restoration of face-to-face learning through the construction and modernization of shelters and the introduction of temporary solutions to ensure access to face-to-face learning; comprehensive overcoming of learning losses (improved teaching practices, flexible catch-up programs, and psychosocial support are needed to compensate for lost learning time and overcome psychological trauma).
“When we talk about the damage caused by Russia to the Ukrainian education and science system, we are not just talking about destroyed buildings. It is limited access to education, lost opportunities, and educational gaps that affect children’s future earnings and the country’s economic potential — and these consequences are exacerbated as long as the war continues,” the press service quotes Minister of Education and Science Oksen Lisovyi as saying.
The RDNA5 report was prepared jointly with the World Bank, the European Commission, and the UN. It covers the period from February 24, 2022, to December 31, 2025. The total cost of recovery in Ukraine as of December 31, 2025, is $588 billion (over EUR500 billion) over the next decade, which is almost three times Ukraine’s projected nominal GDP for 2025.
