With support from the Polaris Programme, 15 Swedish-Ukrainian municipal partnerships implemented joint projects. Their implementation was supported by the Cities4Cities initiative (“International Municipal Cooperation”).
The project competition aimed to strengthen cooperation between Ukrainian hromadas and Swedish municipalities by providing technical and material support for the implementation of joint initiatives. The partnerships also fostered expert exchange, knowledge sharing, learning and other forms of cooperation with Swedish partners.
We are now taking stock of this work and launching a series of stories about how cooperation between Ukrainian and Swedish municipalities helps turn ideas into practical solutions in energy efficiency and environmental sustainability, inclusion and accessibility, education, youth engagement and local economic development.
Our first story highlights the experience of Boryslav, Khotyn and Vasylkiv hromadas, which worked together with Swedish municipalities to strengthen their energy resilience.
- Boryslav — Ljusdal
Cooperation between Boryslav hromada in Lviv Oblast and the municipality of Ljusdal began with humanitarian support and later developed into joint work on energy efficiency and green technologies.
The partners exchanged experience in energy saving, energy management, environmental monitoring and the use of renewable energy sources. Swedish experts also shared approaches to household waste management, engaging residents in waste sorting and integrating environmental education into school curricula. Boryslav hromada, in turn, shared its experience of crisis management during the war, maintaining critical infrastructure during blackouts, adapting social services to the needs of internally displaced persons, as well as its own practices of municipal landfill reclamation and organic waste composting.
A practical outcome of the partnership was the installation of a hybrid solar power system on the Boryslav City Council building, consisting of 38 solar panels, a 20 kW inverter and five battery storage units.
The system will help the City Council maintain stable operations and continue providing services to residents during power outages, while also reducing utility costs.
“This is another good example of intermunicipal cooperation in energy efficiency. Now, even during possible power outages, we will be able to continue working reliably and provide residents with the services they need. Our own electricity generation will also significantly reduce utility costs,” said Ihor Yavorskyi, Mayor of Boryslav.
- Khotyn — Eslöv
Khotyn hromada in Chernivtsi Oblast and the municipality of Eslöv kommuna worked together to strengthen energy security and develop decentralised energy generation.
The partners held a series of online meetings and webinars and exchanged experience in implementing energy solutions in their communities. In particular, Khotyn shared its experience of maintaining the energy system and municipal services during the war and blackouts, while the Swedish partners presented Eslöv’s practices in upgrading public buildings, energy monitoring, optimising energy consumption, district heating and the use of renewable energy sources.
A 50 kW solar power plant consisting of 74 panels was installed on the Khotyn City Council building. It supplies electricity to the administrative building that houses the Administrative Services Centre, the Taxpayer Service Centre, the police community liaison unit and the structural units of the City Council. The plant covers 90–100% of the building’s electricity needs and is expected to save around UAH 500,000 per year.
“This year, together with our Swedish partner municipality of Eslöv and the Polaris Programme, we implemented another important project — installing the second solar power plant in Khotyn hromada. And this is only the beginning,” said Andrii Dranchuk, Mayor of Khotyn.
- Vasylkiv — Sundbyberg
The partnership between Vasylkiv hromada in Kyiv Oblast and Sundbyberg helped strengthen the energy resilience of the “Tvii Prostir” Youth Centre. A solar power system with 60 panels, a 50 kW hybrid inverter and an energy storage system was installed there. It is expected to generate more than 35,700 kWh of electricity annually, reduce CO₂ emissions by 35–40 tonnes per year, and decrease reliance on diesel generators.
As part of the partnership, the youth centres of Vasylkiv and Sundbyberg also exchanged experience in working with young people during times of crisis. In particular, Vasylkiv’s “Tvii Prostir” Youth Centre presented its approaches to psychosocial support, trauma-informed work, critical thinking, volunteering and youth engagement in community life. Young people from Vasylkiv also learned about the Swedish model of youth health services and spoke with Ukrainians living in Sundbyberg about adaptation, education, resilience and plans for the future. Staff from the two centres discussed practical methods of youth engagement, cooperation with schools, and creating a safe and inclusive environment. The next steps include developing joint projects in youth policy and sustainable development.
“We are sincerely grateful to our friends in Sundbyberg for this partnership, because together we can achieve more. Our friendship began only recently, but today we already have tangible results from our cooperation. This project is one of the practical steps in implementing the Memorandum of Cooperation between the City of Sundbyberg and Vasylkiv City Council,” said Nataliia Balasynovych, Mayor of Vasylkiv.
These three partnerships are three different examples of how cooperation between Ukrainian and Swedish municipalities delivers practical results. The next stories in our series will highlight other municipal partnerships and the solutions they have implemented together with support from the Polaris Programme.
