Under fire, Kharkiv is already building for a peaceful tomorrow

Under fire, Kharkiv is already building for a peaceful tomorrow

Yet amid the destruction, Ukraine’s second-largest city is doing something that may seem almost impossible during wartime: preparing for a better future.“We need to rebuild regardless of the war,” says Ihor Terekhov, the city’s mayor, “because if there is no reconstruction there will be only ruins, and those who left will not return.”

Kharkiv City Council

Igor Terekhov, Mayor of Kharkiv.

Kharkiv, once a thriving centre of industry, science, education and culture near Ukraine’s northeastern border, has become one of the country’s most heavily damaged cities since Russia’s full-scale invasion began. According to Mr. Terekhov, around 13,000 buildings have been damaged or destroyed, including approximately 10,000 residential buildings. About 160,000 people have lost their homes. “Every day there is shelling, and it is terrible,” he says. “Just staying alive is exhausting.”Amid the daily attacks, urban planners, architects, engineers and international organisations are working alongside Ukrainian officials to imagine what the city could become after the war.Waiting is not an optionAt the centre of this effort is the UN4UkrainianCities initiative led by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), which supports the revitalisation and modernisation of Kharkiv and the southern city of Mykolaiv. The project aims not only to respond to emergency needs, but also to help cities rebuild in a smarter, greener and more resilient way.