Five Ukrainian cities recognized as transparent in times of war - Transparency International Ukraine

Dnipro, Drohobych, Lviv, Mukachevo, and Ternopil were recognized as transparent in the face of war in 2023, according to a study by Transparency International Ukraine

This is stated on the website of Transparency International Ukraine.

As a result, 23 cities received the status of "partially transparent," while the remaining 52 were classified as "non-transparent.”

“Despite the challenges of the war, cities managed to make some progress in 2023, but the majority are still non-transparent—65%. In 2022, this figure was 81.4%,” the study says.

This is the second study of municipal transparency during the full-scale war. In 2022, the program studied 70 cities

In 2023, the program's analysts additionally evaluated 10 frontline municipalities.

Photo: Transparent Cities

The overall level of transparency of 80 municipalities in 2023 increased slightly to 42.3%, while in 2022 it was 37.5% among the 70 cities surveyed.

Over the year, 14 cities improved their category:

• 2 cities switched to transparent;
• 12 received the status of partially transparent;
• 30 city councils improved their transparency levels by 5% or more.

Drohobych has made a stunning leap in city transparency

Drohobych made a stunning leap from non-transparent to transparent in 2022. Ivano-Frankivsk showed similar progress, improving its transparency by 31.9%. At the same time, the average level of transparency of the frontline cities surveyed did not differ significantly from the overall level of transparency of municipalities (39.4% and 42.3%). These data show that cities can operate and develop effectively under military restrictions and even under fire, and that proximity to the frontline does not become an obstacle to transparency. 

“Being an open and transparent city during a full-scale war is not easy, but it is possible. The number of challenges for city councils is only growing: military, economic, demographic, psychological...  This affects both local governments and citizens,” Olesia Koval, head of the Transparent Cities program, said.

The program has developed recommendations for cities that will help increase their transparency in times of war and contribute to Ukraine's successful European integration:

• stream or publish the recordings of meetings of the city council, the executive committee, and standing commissions within 24 hours;
• include citizens in advisory bodies (IDP Councils, commissions to consider applications for compensation for destroyed property, and public commissions on housing issues);
• publish lists of persons appointed to positions outside the competition;
• update the lists of structures intended for sheltering the population;
• ensure transparent accounting and management of municipal property and land, as well as humanitarian aid received;
• avoid restricting access to datasets (unless otherwise required by applicable regulatory acts); ensure they are in a machine-readable format.

More information about Transparency International Ukraine

Transparency International Ukraine is an accredited chapter of the global movement Transparency International. Since 2012, TI Ukraine has been helping Ukraine become stronger. The organization takes a comprehensive approach to developing and implementing changes to reduce corruption in specific areas. TI Ukraine launched the Transparent Cities program in 2017. Its goal is to reduce the level of corruption at the local level and introduce good practices of transparency and accountability.

• According to the results of the Transparency International Ukraine study, Lviv received the Transparent City status in 2023.