Donbas War: Front-line Cities Lost 218 Million UAH

Five front-line communities did not receive more than 200 million hryvnias from the budget during the last four years of the war in Donbas. According to the “On the Front-Line” project, the Tax Code did not allow for the payment of land tax to local budgets. For this money cities and villages could have built roads, kindergartens and hospitals.

Another figure is 4 billion hryvnias, allocated from the state budget for the socio-economic development of Donetsk and Luhansk regions communities in 2016. But the Budget Code was changed so that it did not allow direct funds for the development of front-line cities since they were equated to the occupied territories.

Similar problems remain today. For example, in Kramatorsk, which has a budget of 3 billion hryvnias, significant subventions are directed to the insulation of buildings and park reconstruction. Meanwhile, people drink technical water from taps in Krasnohorivka.

Thus, as a result of the Russian occupation of Donbas, the front-line cities are far behind significantly the peaceful communities of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Natalia Tolub