Rebuild Ukraine Forum 2026 / Panel Vc / 22 October 2026

The speakers highlighted the strategic potential of the Zakarpattia region, which, amid the ongoing war, has become a safe haven for both citizens and businesses. Bohdan Andriiv pointed out that the city of Uzhhorod has attracted over 200 relocated enterprises, revitalizing former industrial areas abandoned after the fall of the Soviet Union. Success stories include advanced industries such as blood plasma processing (Biofarm) and the completion of a new 150 km road connecting the region directly to Central Europe. The sudden population growth, however, requires major investment from European funds, with a top priority being a €150 million project to modernize the water and sewage infrastructure.

From a regional perspective, Volodymyr Chubirko emphasized the advantage of the inherited Austro-Hungarian railway infrastructure, which allows the efficient transport of goods, including grain, to Poland, Slovakia and Romanian ports without gauge changes. With Crimea out of reach, the region has immense potential to become the country’s new tourism and recreation hub. For effective cross-border cooperation with Romania, the participants proposed joint institutions, new border crossings (the bridge over the Tisa River being a first step) and collaboration in emergencies such as forest fires in the Carpathians. They also stressed the urgency of solving cross-border ecological issues, such as waste reaching the Danube, to demonstrate Ukraine’s reliability as a partner.

In conclusion, both officials stressed that Ukrainian authorities must move past the Soviet-era habit of waiting for solutions from the center, cooperate across regions while avoiding unfair competition between oblasts, and specialize in attracting EU funds. A first step is a newly signed agreement with Brussels to train managers in drafting European projects.