Rebuilding Ukraine: How Lviv city and region are recovering from Russian attacks

The special issue of the Urban Reconstruction and Development Program on Espreso reported the information.

Journalists inspected a high-rise building at 66 Stryiska Street. One of the residents, Lidia Dudka, showed the current stage of repairs in her apartment. Over the past year, the roof of this building and three neighboring ones were repaired, floors were rebuilt, windows and doors were installed, and all utilities were connected. The facades are expected to be renovated by the end of 2024. According to Mayor Andrii Sadovyi, the city of Lviv allocated UAH 39 million from its budget for these works, with another UAH 39 million provided to residents for apartment repairs.

Irena Stetsyk, head of the Stryiska Pidkova Homeowners Association, told journalists that although the funds allocated for apartment repairs were substantial, part of the sum was "eaten up" by time and inflation.

After a year, homeowners received their first compensations, ranging from UAH 200,000 to 1.9 million, depending on the extent of damage and apartment size.

"On July 6, we received funds for repairs and rebuilding our apartments. I received UAH 970,000 for my two-room, 46-square-meter apartment. But we were told that if we hired a company to do the repairs, most of this money would go to their wages. So, we need to do as much as possible on our own," Lidia Dudka told Espreso.

However, all furniture and appliances will have to be purchased at her own expense, as compensation does not cover these items.

For over a year, Lidia and her son have been living in a modular settlement in Stryiskyi Park, where some affected families were relocated. According to her, their temporary housing is equipped with all necessary furniture, and separate rooms have showers, toilets, and kitchens.

For those who did not want to live in the modular settlement, the city provides rental compensation of UAH 8,000, 10,000, or 12,000, says Mayor Andrii Sadovyi. In total, the city has spent around UAH 132 million on restoring buildings on Stryiska Street, covering 17 buildings where hundreds of windows, doors, and roofs were damaged.

However, buildings on Stryiska were not the only ones affected on July 6, 2023. The first strike hit Sakharova Street, where building No. 31 was among the worst damaged. The blast wave shattered all the windows, blew out interior doors in some apartments, and displaced the elevator in its shaft.

The apartment of an elderly woman, Liudmyla, suffered the most severe damage, with even her 30-kilogram oak doors blown off.

At a meeting with local authorities, residents were assured that they would be partially reimbursed for the money they had spent on repairs. A woman and her granddaughter, Anna-Maria, applied for compensation at the local administrative services center, but their request was denied. In the end, they replaced the windows in their apartment at their own expense, spending UAH 120,000. It was only after the windows were installed that a commission visited the apartment.

“This commission seemed to be from the city, but we were told that we’d receive the response via the Diia app. When we checked Diia, the response was a refusal, because we had already installed the windows with our own money,” Anna-Maria Padlevska told journalists.

It remains unclear whether the compensation for self-installed windows should come from the state’s Diia-based eVidnovlennia program or from the city. After six months without any response, Anna-Maria posted on social media, detailing the process of submitting documents, the work completed, the costs, and included a screenshot of the refusal from Diia. Only after the post gained attention did officials contact her and compensate her grandmother for 50% of the cost of the window replacement. The funds were transferred to her pension card.

Espreso reached out to the Lviv City Council to ask why compensation is given selectively, and why the buildings on Stryiska Street were restored using the city budget rather than the state’s eVidnovlennia program. Journalists received a report with the costs of the repairs, but there was no mention of the eVidnovlennia program in the response.

To clarify how to apply for compensation and where citizens should turn in similar situations, Espreso spoke with Vladyslava Rudyka, a legal analyst from the Mezha Anti-Corruption Center.

According to Rudyka, most people receive compensation through the eVidnovlennia state program, which provides reimbursement for damaged, but not completely destroyed, property. Assistance can also sometimes come from international NGOs, which either help rebuild housing directly or provide funding. Additionally, local government websites often publish information about available funding programs.

She emphasized that the list of required documents and the application process for compensation programs can be highly individual. However, the essential document in all cases is proof of property ownership.

Procedure for receiving compensation under the eVidnovlennia program

First, an individual must report damaged property through the Diia app or web portal. Alternatively, a paper application can be submitted in person at the local administrative services center. Then, one of the banks partnered with the Ministry of Digital Transformation will open a special eVidnovlennia account for the individual to receive the compensation. To do this, a person can visit a branch of a partner bank and get an eVidnovlennia card, which will be used to deposit the funds.

After this, the individual must submit an application through Diia or in paper form. The application must include the required documents as outlined by the law, primarily those proving ownership of the property.

A specially created commission will review the application within 30 calendar days. Afterward, the commission must visit the property, inspect it, take photos, and fill out a checklist containing details about the property’s size and the list of damages. The commission will then decide whether to approve or deny the compensation.

"If compensation is approved, the person must use the funds within one year for Category A repairs or within one and a half years for Category B repairs," explains Vladyslava Rudyka.

Category A repairs cover amounts up to UAH 200,000, while Category B repairs exceed UAH 200,000.

In case of a compensation denial, the individual has five days to appeal the commission’s decision. Reasons for denial may include the application being submitted by someone ineligible to receive funds, damages not related to military actions, or missing data in the property rights registry.

What problems do owners of damaged housing face?

One of the most prevalent, according to expert Vladyslava Rudyka, is the loss of documents. For example, in temporarily occupied territories, people often have to prove ownership of their homes in court, which can be a lengthy process.

"However, a draft law has been registered in the Verkhovna Rada to simplify the process of confirming property ownership for real estate located in occupied territories. This would allow Ukrainians to enter their property information into the State Register of Property Rights, making them eligible for future compensation under the eVidnovlennia program," Rudyka explained.

The authors of the draft law propose giving registrars or notaries the right to enter information into the register based on paper documents proving ownership, without the need for confirmation from the Bureau of Technical Inventory (BTI).

Rudyka also clarified that compensation is not provided for damage to common areas in multi-apartment buildings. For such repairs, residents would need to seek help from donor organizations or cover the costs themselves.

Another significant challenge is the availability of funding, as Russia's ongoing attacks continue to increase the number of damaged homes.

Reconstruction of Lviv region

In a broadcast on Espreso, Ivan Bondar, spokesman for the Service of Restoration and Infrastructure Development in the Lviv region, shared that over the past two years of full-scale war, the agency has implemented the international Polish loan project and completed major repairs on the Chervonohrad – Rava-Ruska road.

However, Bondar noted that most projects planned before the full-scale invasion are currently on hold, including the construction of the northern bypass in Lviv and the major repair of about ten roads of local significance.

At the same time, he emphasized the importance of constructing and repairing roads and bridges, as Ukraine aims to become a member of the European Union.

"Transport logistics and European-level roadways should be a priority... Without quality roads, our integration into the EU will be impossible," Bondar stated.

Currently, the staff of the Service is focused on the operational maintenance of the transportation infrastructure.

Regarding personnel, Bondar mentioned that critically important workers, including certified engineers, are being exempted from mobilization. Additionally, if necessary, foreign workers may be involved in the reconstruction efforts.