How the Trostianets community is being restored

As a part of the “Restoration” project, we are discussing the experiences of communities in Ukraine’s Slobozhanshchyna, Kyiv Polissia, Sivershchyna, Prychornomoria, and other regions as they recover from the devastation caused by the Russian army. This article focuses on the city of Trostianets and the surrounding settlements, which are striving to not simply rebuild, but also modernise their public spaces.

A few years before the full-scale invasion, Ukraїner visited the Trostianets City United Territorial Community (UTC) to discuss its development plan. In developing the city and its surrounding villages, the local self-government, under the leadership of community head Yurii Bova, has focused on creating jobs, attracting investments, improving local infrastructure, and promoting local tourism.

Since 2017, the community has made significant improvements to various services, such as library, communal services, and public transport. It has also focused on developing residential and natural areas, updated the hospital and its equipment, and modernised the library. Thanks to the efforts of its economic department, the Trostianets UTC secured funding for around 20 projects, including an inclusive playground, the restoration of architectural monuments, and the establishment of an educational centre.

In 2024, the number of grants awarded and funds raised has increased significantly. However, most of these funds were allocated to address the consequences of the Russian occupation and relentless shelling. Despite the constant threat from a neighbouring state, the residents and authorities of Trostianets remain committed to their plans and dreams. They aim to rebuild the facilities destroyed by the enemy, making them even better than before.

To rebuild in a way that make people come back

Yurii Bova says that the primary task after the liberation of Trostianets and its surrounding community was to encourage the return of as many residents as possible. In his view, this goal can be achieved in several ways: ensuring safe living conditions, creating job opportunities, and delivering quality service in state institutions, public transport, educational and health care facilities. As the community head claims, this approach will motivate people to return on their own.

According to the mayor, by September 2023, 95% of the community’s pre-war population had returned to Trostianets, which had more than 28,000 residents in 2024. The community has also sheltered almost 2,000 internally displaced people from war-affected areas of Slobozhanshchyna and Donechchyna.

Yurii Bova believes that reconstruction should not only focus on practical benefits but also boost the morale of its residents and demonstrate that the community has a future.

“The faster you restore an object and show progress, the stronger is people’s belief that not everything is lost. If the government rebuilds, it means it knows what it is doing.”

The community head shares his observation that local entrepreneurs are also gaining confidence. During the occupation, the enemy forces looted and destroyed buildings of small, medium, and large businesses. For instance, the Trostianets-based Mondelēz International chocolate factory, the flagship of the Slobozhanshchyna food industry and a notable exporter, suffered losses of at least $10 million. The company is currently rebuilding its facility. Despite significant losses and the need for restoration funds, Mondelēz International also supports the hosting community. In 2023, the company allocated $12 million to fund Trostianets’ reconstruction efforts.

Yurii Bova believes that it is not quite possible to separate the impact of restoration from that of business development, as both factors are interconnected. Entrepreneurs are motivated to invest as they see the support from the local administration, while authorities realise that their efforts are not in vain, and they resonate with the community’s residents.

Steps to restoration: strategy and partnerships

Some of Trostianets’ facilities were rebuilt or renovated before the full-scale war, as outlined by the 2019 UTC development strategy, while others, like the city hospital, were finished shortly before the invasion. At the current stage of reconstruction, local authorities are guiding their efforts based on the master plan.

The master plan was adapted and supplemented nearly a year after the community’s liberation, says Yurii Bova. This was made possible through cooperation with the Austrian-Ukrainian company IC Consulten Ukraine, which provided free advice to deputy mayors and local specialists. Yurii Bova appreciates that the partners did not try to create everything from scratch. Instead, they considered the history and achievements of the Trostianets community while suggesting improvements and future possibilities.

“Almost 90% of our plans were absolutely supported by those experts,” he says.

He mentions that the community development priorities were also reviewed in the process. For instance, the investments into local tourism had to be postponed for at least several years, as the invasion significantly altered the security situation. They also put off the construction of large facilities, such as a new factory, due to the challenges in attracting influential investors to such projects. Yurii Bova notes that rethinking the strategy requires a more philosophical approach, and believes that drawing conclusions and making decisions from painful and frightening experiences can strengthen the community.

“We must emerge from the war stronger. That is, every destroyed object must be restored in a way demonstrating to the whole community that it has improved.”

By July 2024, the Trostianets community had restored 60–70% of the destroyed objects. Remaining projects include buildings that require substantial capital investment, such as residential buildings, one of the schools, and a waterwork, all of which were completely destroyed during the hostilities.

One of the factors contributing to the high rate of complete restoration projects is the community’s cooperation with the government, particularly the State Agency for Reconstruction and Development of the Infrastructure of Ukraine. After President Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s visit to Trostianets, the town, along with five other war-affected settlements, was included in an experimental project for comprehensive reconstruction from 2023 to 2025, supervised by the government. Yurii Bova recalls that prior to starting the work and allocating funds, the local self-government approved three key aspects of future reconstruction: inclusiveness, energy efficiency, and safety. Consequently, these principles were laid in the foundation of all projects and became a key aspect of communication with other investors.

Yurii Bova revealed that over two years, local authorities managed to attract more than 130 partners, ranging from individual volunteers to large charitable foundations. The search for investment opportunities continues, and for him, it feels like navigating a large building with numerous doors.

“How do you choose which doors to knock on? You should try knocking on every door you see.”

He views every thematic exhibition or forum as an opportunity to attract new investors, believing that a personal conversation is more effective than a formal letter. When attending these events, Yurii Bova always brings booklets that briefly outline the community’s history, its reconstruction plan, and critical projects requiring restoration.

“We showcase the full potential of our community’s future projects. When you provide this information to foundations, they start deciding [whom and how to help]. Each foundation has its own focus and preferences: some support cultural projects, while others prefer educational ones.”

According to the community head, all the connections established and support received are the fruit of these efforts. During the intense search for partners, he personally sent about 200 appeals and always carried several flash drives with project presentations, photos, and a video about Trostianets, ready to share them at any opportunity.

Yurii Bova admits that planning and fundraising in uncertain conditions can be exhausting and emotionally draining. At any moment, a Russian missile or another attack could undo all the restoration efforts. In the moments of doubt, he finds consolation in the words of Vilnius Mayor Valdas Benkunskas, who once said, “Who told you that the war will end tomorrow? […] Why do you assume you have time to wait for better conditions to restore?”

The community head refuses to play along with the enemy’s desire to halt restoration; instead, he is preparing to invest in the next projects in line.

“The world has changed. We must accept it as it is today. It’s tough, but we have to adapt. When the air raid alarm goes off, we go down to the basement, wait until it’s over, then return to work and keep working. The enemy wants us to break down, leave, and panic – but we have to rebuild.”

Transforming a village library into a modern space

The first building restored in the community was the library in the village of Soldatske, home to about 400 residents. Located roughly 23 kilometres from Trostianets, the settlement voted to leave the Velykopysariv UTC and transitioned to Yurii Bova’s community in 2020, attracted by its rapid development. At the first meeting with the Soldatske residents, Yurii Bova asked what they wanted to change in their village. He also presented the example of the recently modernised public library in Trostianets. Antonina Vyskrebentseva, the head of Soldatske, recalls that the villagers enthusiastically supported the idea of following Trosianets’ example and updating their own library.

“People agreed and said, ‘Yes, we need a library,’ because it gives children a place to gather and [access] computers.”

The newly renovated library operated for only two months, from December 2021 until February 24, 2022, before the Russian troops invaded the village. On the first day of the full-scale Russian invasion, Russian military equipment passed through Soldatske, staying by the road outside the village for about a day, and then moved on to Trostianets. Shortly after, on March 7, the occupiers shelled the settlement for the first time. Within days, aerial bombs hit the village, destroying several buildings, including the library.

“It (the library – ed.) was partially damaged on March 7th when Grad (Russian multiple rocket launcher) hit here, along with a mortar fire. When the airstrike hit the centre, the blast wave finished it. Windows, doors, the roof — everything was destroyed. Only the door remained,” recalls Soldatske head Antonina Vyskrebentseva.

During those attacks, part of the library’s collection was saved by librarian Valentyna Hantseva, who volunteered to rescue the books amid ongoing hostilities. The morning after the first shelling, she collected the surviving books and brought them to her home. Despite the relentless shelling and the active Russian advance on Trostianets, she wasn’t afraid of further attacks or the risks stemming from keeping Ukrainian literature at home (under occupation, keeping Ukrainian literature could result in reprisals if discovered during a Russian raid – ed.).

“Losing the books would have been a shame. Everything was new. If we hadn’t taken them away, you know, it’s a village, and people are different. They might have taken them to their homes, but this way they all will be preserved.”

A few weeks later, on March 28th, Trostianets was liberated, and the local government began drafting a restoration plan. After his first visit to Soldatske after the attacks, Yurii Bova announced that the library would be restored. The community attracted funding for restoration from various programs and donors. An additional UAH 450,000 (roughly $15,400 — ed.) was allocated from the city budget. Soldatske head Antonina recalls that the villagers did not stay aside and made their own contributions.

“At some point, we barred the windows [in the damaged library]. Then, the residents started coming together with a strong sense of purpose. The city council provided the slate [to fix the damaged roof], and we repaired the roof on our own. Both our residents and internal refugees were helping us. People saw us cleaning and sweeping here, and they came to help voluntarily — my friends, my relatives, all of us.”

The library reopened in the summer of 2022, only several months after the Russians were driven out of the community. Antonina Vyskrebentseva emphasises that restoring the building was undeniably important.

“We all have children, and everyone wants their child to grow and not just stay at home. So why shouldn’t our children have the chance to develop?”

Today, the Soldatske village library is a welcoming space where children gather to communicate and study. The Trostianets community includes three villages, home to 60 children, 47 of whom are of a school age. During the summer holidays, many children visit the village to see their relatives and frequently go to the library to socialise and play with their peers. The building has several rooms to hold master classes, online events, and other community activities. In winter, the library premises are heated, making it a preferred venue for children’s parties organised by the cultural department, whose own cultural centre is much colder.

Unlike the old library, the current facility continually updates its collection with new books for both children and adults. Readers also have access to newspapers and magazines through subscription. Librarian Valentyna Hantseva shares that periodicals are especially popular among older people, who appreciate the library as a place to socialise. Charitable foundations or caring individuals also contribute to the collection, and the librarians are always open to collaboration with publishers and other organisations in an attempt to offer their readers as much Ukrainian literature as possible.

A shelter near the library protects visitors from Russian attacks, and activities are paused during air raids. In addition, Antonina Vyskrebentseva notes, every manager is aware of the wartime risks and genuinely cares about their staff, prioritising their safety. She agrees that the news of potential offensives or new shelling can be frightening, but people’s faith in their defenders and the desire to support them outweighs the fear.

“There’s no place like home, you know. The belief that everything will be fine, that everything will be Ukraine, never leaves us. Every person has certain fears. But our walls and homes protect us.”

The story of one high-rise building

One of the hardest-hit areas in the community was the station square in Trostianets, now renamed Kholodnyi Yar Square in honour of the 93rd Brigade “Kholodnyi Yar” that liberated the city. The Russian military established an artillery division there, stationing numerous armoured vehicles, including nine self-propelled artillery units and four Grad multiple rocket launchers that were used to shell Okhtyrka and nearby settlements.

Likewise, the occupiers used a 60-apartment building on Blahovishchenska Street as an additional firing position. In order to access the lower floors, they broke into apartments by kicking doors down.

Yurii Smirnov was the only resident who stayed in the apartment building from the first to the last day of the occupation. He watched the enemy’s actions and later realised that his new “neighbours” were most likely scouts.

“They (Russian soldiers – ed.) came with the Russian troops but pretended to be protecting us. We asked them, ’What are you doing here?’ They couldn’t answer. It was especially true for the younger [soldiers]. They said, ‘We would rather run away, but we can’t. The commander is holding us here, there’s no way we can leave.’”

Under the pretence of protecting civilians, the Russian army used them as human shields, forcibly keeping residents inside the house. Yurii Smirnov recalls being trapped in a basement with Russian soldiers during the shelling. When incoming fire damaged the building, the first group of enemy soldiers fled, leaving the house partially ruined. According to Yurii, a local cat that had sought refuge there was killed in the attack.

Subsequently, several waves of Russian soldiers returned to the high-rise building along with military vehicles, taking up combat positions during the battles for Trostianets there. At one point, a drone struck a concrete slab on the fifth floor, sparking a fire that partially damaged the house. After that, Yurii placed three buckets of water on each floor as a precaution.

“They (the occupiers – ed.) threatened us, saying, ‘You won’t have a life here; we’ll smoke you out.’”

Yurii says that the building was ultimately destroyed by the second wave of soldiers from the Russian-occupied Donechchyna.

“Their (Russian – ed.) equipment, an armoured personnel carrier, was positioned right in front of the building. I was walking just below when I heard machine-gun fire so intense that bricks began to fall. Usually, the self-propelled guns fire from who knows how many kilometres away. But this time, the machine-gun fire was right here. I thought an offensive was starting. I hid in the basement for a while. When I came out, the wind was strong, and a terrible fire had broken out.”

After the fire was extinguished, photos of the utterly charred high-rise building, rendered uninhabitable, circulated on social media. The community head Yurii Bova says that a group of regional experts initially recommended demolishing the building and replacing it with a new construction. However, after the additional consultations with experts, he was convinced that reconstruction was still feasible. The State Agency for Reconstruction and Development of Infrastructure of Ukraine is now coordinating the restoration efforts.

Yurii Bova also shares that the building will be the first in the settlement to operate without gas. According to the master plan, Trostianets strives to completely transition to heat pumps and solar panels, eliminating the use of natural gas within 26 years. The new technology for the high-rise building is financed by the environmental protection organisation Greenpeace.

A group of residents representing the building’s interests supported the idea of a modernised restoration, even though this approach takes longer than a conventional renovation. The main restoration work is planned for completion by the fall of 2024, when the multi-story building will be habitable. Residents are eagerly awaiting this moment, says one of them.

“Everyone wants to return as soon as possible, to live where they lived after so much has happened. Everyone has their own story and memories.”

Medical facilities: providing aid while rebuilding

Trostianets City Hospital

In 2018, during the administrative reform, a district hospital serving nearly 40,000 patients came under the control of the Trostianets community. The authorities planned to renovate the entire inpatient facility by 2022, updating its key departments, enhancing the exterior, and replacing outdated Soviet-era equipment.

In February 2022, the full-scale Russian invasion undid all previous financial investments and completed works. The occupiers intentionally destroyed the Trostianets hospital by shelling the floors with tanks and firing on the windows with machine guns. After the town was liberated in late March 2022, its central medical facility closed for a month. By May of the same year, the hospital resumed operations despite broken windows and damaged wards, with staff attending to patients in any usable rooms.

The first state funds for restoration arrived in the fall of 2022. Before that, the community had spent six months rebuilding the hospital at its own cost. According to its head, it was determination to press on with the work without waiting for help that convinced the government to invest in the reconstruction of local facilities.

“Regardless of whether there are state funds available, we do what we can. The state’s primary focus today is the war — winning it, supporting the military, and acquiring military equipment. Any contribution we can make, whether from our resources or those from our partners, is our way of assisting the state.”

As of March 2024, half of the restoration plan for the Trostianets city hospital had been completed; the roof and walls were rebuilt, and new windows were installed. However, in the same month, an Iskander (a Russian ballistic missile – ed.) struck 100 metres from the medical facility, necessitating redoing part of the work. This includes purchasing and replacing nearly 180 windows, repairing the exterior cladding, and fixing several wards.

The inflicted damage was eliminated within a month. Yurii Bova explains the unusual speed by the fact that the front-line settlements like Trostianets cannot afford to wait for a better moment to conduct repairs. The damaged facilities, especially medical ones like hospitals, cannot be closed after each shelling, so the building is undergoing gradual restoration.

“Almost all the wards are occupied now, so we work non-stop. For example, when ten windows arrive, we install them immediately. During this time, we close a few wards for repairs, and then move on to the next ones. This way, we move on and on without halting the operations of any department.”

Most of the key departments at the Trostianets city hospital, such as the therapeutic, maternity, surgical, neurological, and operating blocks, have been restored, and much of the medical equipment has been set up. For the safety of patients and doctors, the hospital has shelters beneath. These shelters are interconnected, providing access to other buildings even during air raids.

Generators are running at the hospital to manage potential power outages. In the future, they plan to use energy from solar panels installed on the roofs of several buildings. According to Yurii Bova, this approach helps save money and enhances the hospital’s resilience to voltage drops and critical blackouts that follow Russian attacks.

Outpatient clinic

Another critical facility damaged during the occupation of Trostianets is a three-story polyclinic near the city. The completely destroyed building is now being rebuilt by the State Agency for Reconstruction and Development of Infrastructure of Ukraine. Meanwhile, the German Society for International Cooperation set up a modular outpatient clinic as a temporary solution, costing over a million euros. The clinic was installed about eight months after the city’s liberation.

German partners financed not only repair and restoration work but also the purchase of new equipment. Yurii Bova reveals that the polyclinic lacked some critical equipment until 2022. During the facility restoration, the inclusivity requirements were also taken into account.

When an Iskander missile struck 100 metres from the dispensary in March 2022, the building was saved from destruction by gabions – mesh structures filled with loose materials, mainly stones – that absorbed the blast. However, the explosive wave knocked out the door of the nearby infection ward. Yurii Bova says that this episode convinced the local authorities to prioritise the protection of the buildings during restoration.

“[The installation of gabions] is something we learned after the city’s liberation and through the shelling in Sumshchyna (Sumy region, or Sumshchyna, is the administrative region of Ukraine to which the Trostianets community formally belongs – ed.). We will seek funds to protect as many buildings as possible because it really works.”

Regarding the stationary polyclinic, the community head notes that staff will return and equipment will be reinstalled once restoration is complete. Afterward, the authorities plan to repurpose the German-sponsored modular building for other needs, such as a hospice for the elderly or a rehabilitation centre.

Paramedic and Midwifery Point

Located 7 km from Trostianets, Stanova is one of the largest villages in the community, with a population of nearly 700 people. Pre-medical and medical care in the village is exclusively provided by the paramedic-midwifery centre (PMC). The previous centre was closed in 2021 because its poorly-maintained building could not be restored. That same year, the city authorities decided to establish a new facility, considering the needs of both medical personnel and patients. Oksana Hrobova agreed to lead the PMC in the village, having returned from maternity leave shortly before construction began.

A modernised PMC reopened half a year before the full-scale war, in August 2021. On the first day of the invasion, a convoy of Russian vehicles stopped on the outskirts of the village, looting civilian houses. In order to get into the new PMC, the occupiers broke down the doors and shattered the windows, recalls Oksana Hrobova.

“We used to have quality equipment. Everything was completely ransacked. Even the internet router was cut off [and taken]. They probably thought it could work wirelessly.”

In March 2022, a bomb fell near the PMC, ultimately destroying the building. When Stanova was under occupation, Oksana Hrobova hosted fellow villagers in her home. After the community’s liberation, medical workers were given a room in the local cultural centre to carry out their duties. The space was equipped with just a table, a chair, and essential medicines.

Meanwhile, Dutch benefactors from the OpenDoorUkraine.NL foundation agreed to finance the restoration of the destroyed facility. They provided funds to the Dobrota charitable foundation, which managed to find contractors and carry out repair and restoration works. The head of OpenDoorUkraine.NL, Robert Seri, personally visited Trostianets and assessed the condition of the restored facility.

The PMC was rebuilt according to the original plan and in its exact location. The director of the Trostianets Primary Medical Care Center Svitlana Loboda claims that the layout of the office premises was slightly altered. The changes improved the building’s inclusivity by creating more comfortable waiting areas and spacious rooms to accommodate wheelchair access. The facility fully replaced the medical equipment that was stolen by the occupiers. In December 2022, Oksana Hrobova and chief physician Svitlana Loboda began receiving patients in the restored medical facility.

“I don’t turn anyone away. If someone falls ill at two o’clock, we visit them at two. If it’s at seven, we go at seven. We assess the situation on arrival. If it’s beyond my expertise, we either call a family doctor to the [patient’s] house or summon an ambulance.”

One of Stanova’s immediate plans is establishing a pharmacy kiosk, which is already underway. This new improvement will allow residents to conveniently purchase prescribed medications on-site.

According to Svitlana Loboda’s observations, the number of patient declarations with doctors has recently declined, as many people frequently leave the border areas. At the same time, many residents that have left the village due to hostilities are returning because the PMC offers a comprehensive range of services, collaborates with mobile teams, arranges home visits for seriously ill or disabled patients, and provides training for doctors.

“Almost all of our medical workers remain on the ground and keep working. There may be some panic because we are not far [from the Russian border], but people are returning.”