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On the eve of the Ukraine Recovery Conference, UNECE, BMZ, international lenders and the cities of Nuremberg and Berlin reaffirm their support for housing in Kharkiv.

Berlin, June 10, 2024 - At the side event “Kharkiv Recovery: Main Goals and Plans” today preceding the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) in Berlin, all attention focused on Ukraine's second largest city: Kharkiv is massively affected by the war due to its location near the front and has been subject to particularly heavy bombing in recent weeks. The extensive damage and destruction of housing was where the event’s agenda set out: During three panels, political decision-makers and representatives of international organizations and financial institutions explained and discussed the plans and goals for reconstruction in Kharkiv and Ukraine. Igor Terekhov, Mayor of Kharkiv, gave an intense description of everyday life in the city during the war and emphasized the importance of cooperation with partners abroad. Marcus König, Mayor of Kharkiv's twin city Nuremberg, and Franziska Giffey, Deputy Mayor of Berlin, paid tribute to Terekhov's tireless efforts on behalf of his city. Kharkiv has been working on a reconstruction plan for the city for many months. Supported by the UN4UkrainianCities program of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), for which funds are available from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Kharkiv is part of the “Municipal Housing in Kharkiv” project. The city is being supported by the project leader Housing Initiative for Eastern Europe (Initiative Wohnungs-wirtschaft Osteuropa e.V. - IWO) in its efforts to reorganize the housing sector. UNECE’s Executive Secretary Tatiana Molcean considered the project to be of crucial importance for a diversified, sustainable housing sector in Ukraine. According to the plans of Kharkiv and the project partners, municipal involvement in the provision and management of housing is to be significantly increased. “The influence of municipal housing providers on rental prices and the quality of housing and administration has a regulating effect - as an essential part of a future mix of housing provision, they stand for affordable housing and energy-efficient construction,” emphasized IWO’s Managing Director Knut Höller. The presence and contributions of high-ranking representatives from the European Commission, European Investment Bank (EIB) and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) showed that the building and housing sector, as the most affected by the war, are high on the agenda of international financing institutions.

The Ukraine Recovery Conference will take place on June 11 and 12 in Berlin. Following the conferences in Lugano and London, it is the third meeting of partner and supporter countries of Ukraine after the outbreak of the Russian war of aggression against the country in February 2022. For more information on the UNECE project and on opportunities to play an active and professional role in supporting Kharkiv and Ukraine, please contact IWO’s team and Managing Director Knut Höller.

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