For a month after the start of the full-scale invasion, Trostianets in Sumy region was under occupation. Later, it became a shelter for people who lost their homes because of the war.

What happened in the first days after the invasion? What kind of destruction did the community suffer, how did it recover, and how is Trostianets overcoming challenges now? Read about working with IDPs who found a new home here, recovery, cooperation with partners, and much more in the interview with the mayor of the city, Yuriy Bova.

Direct speech of the mayor:
▪ “On the third day of the war, I believed that we would survive – and we had to resist, even though the enemy was clearly stronger.”
▪ “We realize that many people will never return to the territory from which they came.There are villages and towns in Donbas that have been completely destroyed. Therefore, our task is to make these people stay with us. Today we are fighting for people first and foremost.”
▪ “…new partnerships are emerging. For example, a woman who used to live in one of the villages of our community, but has been in Germany for nine years, called me and asked how she could help. I advised her to go to the mayor of the city where she now lives. And now we have signed a partnership agreement with that city. We have already received three trucks of aid from there, as well as a powerful generator, a bus, medicines, household appliances, and furniture. We are already starting to think about joint projects to rebuild Trostianets, to which they are ready to attract international funds.”
▪ “This government-public-business triangle is extremely important. Because the government must be aware of the needs of both of these categories. And in order to have high-quality communication, you have to be in the epicenter of events every day.”
The entire text is available at the link in the profile header.

Read the interview on Interfax-Ukraine.

And learn more about the experience of different communities, in particular, listen to Yana Litvinova in our course “Adaptation and Integration of IDPs: Experience and Opportunities” on the educational online platform Zrozumilo!

The interview was prepared within the framework of the joint special project of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency and the East Europe Foundation “Community Experience”, launched with the support of the Stiykist’ Programme, implemented by the East Europe Foundation in a consortium of NGOs led by ERIM (France) and funded by the European Union