Association of Ukrainian Cities declares increased pressure on local governments
27 January 13:49
Local community leaders are calling on the head of the Ukrainian state to protect the rights of citizens to local self-government, democracy, and justice. This is stated in the appeal of the Board of the Association of Ukrainian Cities to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.
The Association of Ukrainian Cities cites examples of violations of legislation, procedures, and justice in the conduct of procedural actions by law enforcement and judicial authorities against the heads of small communities as early as 2025.
In this regard, the appeal mentions the cases of Oleksandr Supruniuk, head of the Netishyn City Council, Taras Kuchma, head of the Drohobych City Council, and Oleksandr Markushyn, head of the Irpin City Council.
The Association of Ukrainian Cities emphasized that “systemic pressure on local self-government weakens communities and Ukraine as a whole, and therefore leads to a weakening of the country in the war against the aggressor, making the path to our victory more difficult.”
As you know, the mayor of Kyiv, the head of the Association of Ukrainian Cities, Vitali Klitschko, has also previously stated that law enforcement agencies are putting pressure on local authorities. At the end of October last year, during the Ukrainian Municipal Forum “Unity for the Victory and Restoration of Ukraine,” he noted that due to numerous operational actions of law enforcement officers and their petitions to the courts, the work of many municipalities or utility companies was blocked.

“People are either suspended, limited in their duties or demoralized. Often, these are the specialists who have no one to replace them to provide the services needed by residents,” Vitali Klitschko said at the time.
He said that given this situation, the Board of the Association of Ukrainian Cities decided to strengthen the legal service of the Association to help everyone who needs it.
Personnel changes are expected in Kyiv
The newly appointed head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, Tymur Tkachenko, has announced his intention to replace the heads of district state administrations in the capital. He announced this at the end of last week after a “fruitful conversation with the President of Ukraine.”
According to Tkachenko, the replacement of the heads of district state administrations should help to increase attention to security issues and generally address the problems of the community.