While the front holds — communities are being built: Bilohorod delegation at the Congress of Local Authorities
The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the President of Ukraine gathered heads of communities from across the country. Representing Bilohorodska is village head Anton Ovsienko. At stake are not protocols, but concrete answers: whether people will have electricity, water, and heat if the enemy strikes infrastructure.
By Oleg Bazylewicz
April 10, 2026 · 1 min read
Community Resilience — It's Not a Slogan, It's a Checklist
The main theme of the Congress is community resilience in wartime conditions. It determines whether a school will continue operating after a missile strike, whether a clinic will accept patients, or whether homes will stay warm in winter.
Bilohorodska community has been taking this path systematically for more than a year: equipped with generators and solar panels. But the work hasn't stopped — additional equipment is being installed.
"In focus for 2026 — additional equipment for lyceums, clinics and FAPs, so that blackouts don't stop the provision of basic services"
— Anton Ovsienko, village head of Bilohorodska community
Water and Heat Under Protection
A separate session at the Congress addressed the protection of water and heat supply facilities. This is no longer an abstract "infrastructure strengthening" — it's physical protection of specific facilities that could become enemy targets.
Bilohorodska community synchronizes its actions with Kyiv region's strategy. This approach allows for more effective use of resources and prevents duplication of efforts.
A Conversation with the Government — Without Intermediaries
During the "Questions — Answers" session, community leaders had the opportunity to directly voice specific needs to Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and Vice Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba. This is not a declarative dialogue — it's resource coordination between the state and local government where decisions truly matter.
Head of the Kyiv Regional State Administration Mykola Kalashnyk provided an open platform for such conversation. Experts in local government call such direct platforms critically important precisely in wartime conditions — when every week of delay could cost a community dearly.
What This Means for People
Behind each line of the protocol lies a practical result: whether there will be heating in the school next winter, whether a clinic will open after a blackout. Bilohorodska community demonstrates: resilience is built not during a crisis, but before it.
