For four consecutive years, Ukraine has been hosting the International Summit of Cities and Regions.

The IV Summit, which took place today in Kyiv, was opened by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The delegation from Luhansk Region was headed by the head of the regional state administration, Oleksiy Kharchenko.

"The thoughts of millions of people were and are with us, who from the first minutes of the Russian aggression felt all its injustice and impudence and decided that Russia must be stopped. It was this decision of the people that became the basis for many decisions of leaders of countries, parliaments, and businesses to support Ukraine, our defense, and our people. And this is one of the key components of how we manage to protect our cities and villages, our lives, and our independence despite everything. Namely, thanks to the commonality of our feelings with many people of the world, and specifically European countries, who value their freedom and independence and that is why they help us protect the freedom and independence of Ukraine," the Head of State emphasized.

This year, the event brought together over 500 participants, including over 150 international guests. Importantly, over 200 Ukrainian communities joined the Summit.

The Head of State emphasized that after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, Ukraine created various formats of interaction with partners, including cooperation between communities, cities, and regional authorities with the participation of government officials.

"This format of communication provides an opportunity to strengthen partnerships between our and foreign cities and regions. It helps to attract international support for the restoration of communities. This is extremely important for the communities of Luhansk Region. Because their territories have been occupied by Russia, their infrastructure and housing have been significantly destroyed and will require reconstruction after de-occupation. Therefore, we are constantly cooperating with our partners on this and other issues. I thank the President and the Government for the opportunity to present the region to Ukraine and Europe," Oleksiy Kharchenko emphasized.

The summit became an important platform for discussing recovery, community resilience, and developing partnerships ahead of the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2026 in Gdansk.

"Our country expects real results in terms of reconstruction and the involvement of European business in cooperation from the international Conference on the Restoration of Ukraine, which will be held in Gdansk," Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted.

The initiators of the organization of the International Summit of Cities and Regions are the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the President of Ukraine in cooperation with the Office of the President of Ukraine and the Ministry of Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine.