Side by Side project unites Ukrainians helping to rebuild communities in war-battered areas

The Side by Side is a new project to rebuild communities in the most affected regions. As part of the initiative, Ukraine's western Rivne region will reconstruct three villages in the southern Kherson region.

Rubryka reports, citing the Facebook page of the Rivne Regional Military Administration and Deputy Head of the Office of the President and Executive Secretary of Regional and City Congress, Oleksii Kuleba.  

What is the problem?

Russia's war in Ukraine affected many regions along the 2,000 km front line. North, east, and south areas are under constant Russian shelling and airstrikes. The southern Kherson region is hugely damaged by the flooding. 

As Rubryka reported, on the night of June 6, Russian invaders blew up the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station, located a few kilometers from the temporarily occupied city of Nova Kakhovka, Kherson region.

As of the end of June, 18 settlements remain flooded in the Kherson region after Russian occupiers blew up the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station.

What is the solution?

The Side by Side project unites people, communities, and local administrations to rebuild towns destroyed by Russian forces. 

Oleksii Kuleba said on the national telethon that the Kherson region would be a pilot area for the initiative as one of the most battered in Ukraine. 

The Rivne region took over the Kochubeivka community in the Kherson region as part of the Side by Side project to reconstruct the housing and infrastructure of three villages — Kochubeivka, Zahradivka, and Orlove.

How does it work?

"Yes, the Kherson region is under fire, in danger, but people want to return. People are returning to their homes. The rear regions take currently populated areas and communities [in Kherson region, – ed.] that are in conditional security [under patronage, – ed.]. This danger is not much greater than on the territory of the whole of Ukraine," said Oleksii Kuleba.

Teams from the Rivne region have already started repair work: roofs are being patched, windows are being replaced, and the affected areas are being restored.

Today 15 rear regions are demonstrating unity, taking under their care the affected settlements of the Kherson region. In this way, they demonstrate the ability of Ukrainian communities to help and support their neighbors.

"We are doing everything so that people have a place to return to. We are a rear region that can help. There is no such thing as another person's or 'not ours' trouble. In Ukraine, there is a general trouble called war," the Rivne administration said in a statement.