LocationsFrom Ruins to the Future: How Borodianka Is Rebuilding
November 21, 2025
Just two years ago, Shevchenko Street in the town of Borodianka was covered in debris. Shattered facades, charred walls, blown-out windows — that’s how millions of people saw it in the first weeks after the full-scale invasion.
Now, just under four years later, you can hear children’s voices here again, cafés are open, fresh plaster covers the walls, and young trees are growing beside the reconstructed buildings.
In a city that was almost completely destroyed at the beginning of the war, more than 600 of 825 damaged facilities have already been restored, or about 80% of all the damage.
Borodianka has become an example of how reconstruction can — and must — continue even in wartime. Repaired schools and hospitals, restored residential areas, local businesses, transport, and roads create the necessary conditions for millions of Ukrainians to return home, receive public services, and plan their future.
“Almost Every Building Was Damaged”
Viacheslav Barbulov — an engineer, resident of Borodianka, and adviser to the head of the community — showed us around the town.
“During the heavy fighting in 2022, our community suffered the most destruction in the region”, he says. “About 80% of infrastructure — both residential and commercial — was damaged or destroyed. After de-occupation, we began assessing the buildings, counting every private house, administrative facility, and business. We are a large community with 32 settlements. Certified specialists started inspections and identified around 3,500–4,000 affected objects. Almost every building was damaged.”
After the area was liberated, people started with the basics — clearing rubble, repairing roofs, and installing new windows. At first, they worked on their own to save whatever was left from the rain and frost. Only after that did true reconstruction begin.
A New Quality of Life
Once the ruins were cleared, it became obvious that rebuilding the town “as it was” made no sense.
Borodianka is being rebuilt with a comprehensive approach to restoration, coordinated by the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine. This entails not just the reconstruction of what was destroyed, but the creation of a new quality of life with modern technologies, energy efficiency, digital solutions, and a focus on people’s needs. Attention is given to every element: infrastructure, communication networks, improvements to the street and road system, and the creation of recreational areas.
Borodianka chose to start afresh — to create a comfortable, safe, and barrier-free environment.
Together with the state and international partners, including UNDP, the community is implementing projects that are transforming the town from within. Engineering networks are being modernized; buildings are being insulated; new sidewalks and heating systems are under construction — all with the needs of every resident in mind.
A Barrier-Free Town
One of the first reconstruction priorities was to ensure maximum comfort for everyone.
This includes all aspects of urban life — new sidewalks, upgraded heating and sewer networks, better energy efficiency, and most importantly — accessibility. Borodianka is one of the pilot communities of a flagship project of the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine titled “Barrier-Free Movement.” A barrier-free route, convenient for everyone, is being created here.
Today the town looks like a big construction site, but temporary inconveniences are not discouraging anyone — people can already see the results.
Old five-story buildings are now almost unrecognizable — and this is just the beginning.
A key direction supported by UNDP and the Government of Japan is the creation of a unified barrier-free space — a town where no one feels limited.
“Older people often cannot get over even a small curb. People with limited mobility include not only those with disabilities but also parents with strollers. We make sure everyone can reach their homes freely,” says accessibility adviser Oleh Herasymiuk.
The main accessibility route will run along Central Street — the 5-kilometer-long main artery of the town. The road is being completely rebuilt: new elevations, wider sidewalks, and ramps. Tactile tiles and pedestrian signals are already being installed — something that wasn’t even being considered just a few years ago.
This is also crucial for veterans returning home.
“Our soldiers are coming back, many with injuries,” says community advisor Barbulov. “So accessibility must be taken seriously. Every reconstruction project now includes all accessibility standards. We want not just to rebuild better than before — we want our community to be fully comfortable and inclusive.”
Accessibility also applies to services, not only physical spaces.
“Right next to us is the Administrative Service Centre — people should be able to easily reach it and resolve any issue without obstacles. That’s what barrier-free means,” notes Herasymiuk.
415 Services in One Place
A modern Administrative Service Centre (ASC), created in cooperation with UNDP and with the support of the European Union, opened less than a year after the liberation of the city from occupation.
Maria Koshka, head of the residence registration department, recalls: “After liberation, we worked inside a school building — it was cramped and uncomfortable. Now we have a modern centre where everything is nearby — warm, accessible, and easy to use. Many visitors are elderly or have disabilities. There’s ramp access, an elevator platform, and an accessible restroom. Initially, this centre also served as an ‘invincibility point’. People could charge phones, warm up, and get legal help — because everyone was lost and didn’t know where to turn.”
Today the ASC provides 295 services, and soon 415 — from property registration to veteran and social support services.
“People should be able to come to one place and resolve as many issues as possible — without running around. We even notify citizens via SMS when documents are ready,” says Koshka.
A mobile ASC service is also available — specialists bring a tablet computer, printer, and Wi-Fi directly to residents’ homes.
“For those who cannot come in person, the ‘CNAP in a suitcase’ service is available — a case with a tablet, printer, and Wi-Fi that allows administrators to provide services to community residents closer to their homes.”
A new space for young people
The recovery of a city is not only a matter of rebuilding houses and infrastructure. What’s equally important is creating places where new ideas and initiatives can emerge. One such place is the youth centre “VidNOVA:UA”, established by the NGO Mist Zmin in cooperation with the Plast Training Centre and with the support of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, UNDP, and funding from the governments of Denmark and Japan.”.
“For us, it was important to create a dedicated space for young people in Borodianka, a community with an active youth network that needs support,” says Diana Pridma, a co-founder of NGO “Mist zmin”. “Moreover, we were among the first to start this work, back when the reconstruction hadn’t yet begun. The centre is located not only in the heart of the town but also in a symbolic place — right next to the (damaged) buildings, photos of which were once seen around the world.”
With support from UNDP, the space was renovated and fully equipped by the efforts of 30 young volunteers that came from the different regions of Ukraine. It now hosts workshops, masterclasses, meetings, and creative sessions. The centre has become a place where young people learn to organize events, generate ideas, and implement their own projects.
“We didn’t keep an exact count, but there have been yearly more than 500 unique visitors — in a community of just 10,000 people,” says Pridma. “The most important thing is that this space has not stopped — it continues to operate even now. This is a story about sustainable support.”
Safe Shelter Where It’s Needed Most
Near the market — where locals take buses to Kyiv — the first deep modular shelter has opened. It is a joint project of the State Agency for Restoration, international partners, and business.
“For Borodianka, as well as for other settlements, safety is currently a key priority. Thanks to this modular solution, we can quickly provide people with shelters,” says Serhiy Sukhomlyn, Head of the State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine. “The first one was installed in the centre of the town. This location was chosen because a large number of people gather on Central Street — here we have administrative and social institutions, residential buildings, and commercial facilities.”
It has two exits, reinforced steel walls, several meters of soil overhead, batteries that can supply 48 hours of autonomous power, a sanitation unit, and water supplies.
Inclusivity is ensured here as well — people with limited mobility can be safely lowered inside using special equipment.
Experience That Inspires
Borodianka is rapidly modernizing, applying international best practices and developing its own expertise.
The Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine is implementing an experimental project for the comprehensive restoration of settlements affected by the war — and Borodianka is one of the pilot examples of this approach. Within the project, not just individual buildings are being rebuilt here, but all of the key components of the town’s infrastructure: housing, utility networks, transportation, digital services, and barrier-free routes.
The Ministry intends to implement the successful pilot model in Borodianka in other affected settlements, thereby creating resilient, modern, and comfortable new communities from the ruins of the old.
Local leaders are confident: their experience will help other communities — those now walking the same path from destruction to renewal.
“We want our example to help others build safe, dignified, and comfortable places to live,”
says Barbulov.
Borodianka proves that reconstruction is not only about bricks and concrete. It is about people who, overcoming the consequences of war, are creating a new future — one that is convenient, open, and of a completely new quality.
Photo credit: Kostiantyn Levchenko, Oleksandr Ratushniak / UNDP in Ukraine
The story was prepared as part of the campaign “Ukraine Delivers,” a joint initiative by the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the State Agency for Restoration and Development of Infrastructure of Ukraine.
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