Link: Challenges and Coordination of Humanitarian Response in the Hromadas Retaken by Ukraine in the South

Publication date: August 14, 2025

Author: Valentyna Chabanova-Babak, Content Manager, Link platform

Over two years of work, the Link platform has built a network of informants in 24 hromadas retaken by Ukraine of Mykolaivska and Khersonska Oblasts. At the same time, the United Nations humanitarian response system notes significant changes, including a reduction in the number of clusters. Under these circumstances, how can we ensure that none of the needs of frontline hromadas are left unmet? In early July 2025, the Link team brought together representatives of non‑governmental organizations engaged in humanitarian response in the South, as well as hromada representatives, to discuss problems and challenges in a dialogue format.

The local coordination mechanism for humanitarian response has been implemented by the Legal Development Network in cooperation with the Czech Humanitarian Organization “People in Need” and with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom since 2023. Link is a reliable tool for establishing horizontal connections between hromadas and humanitarian aid providers.

The Link teams work in the hromadas retaken by Ukraine of Mykolaivska and Khersonska Oblasts from three offices in Mykolaiv, Kherson, and Zelenodolsk (Dnipropetrovska Oblast), maintaining direct contact with more than 900 hromada representatives.

Second from the right: Head of Khrystoforivka village in Bashtanka Hromada, Mykolaivska Oblast, Larysa Khrustavka

“I am very grateful for the work of your team. I am constantly in touch with a Link data collection specialist. Thanks to our cooperation, in 2024 our hromada received assistance from 12 organizations through Link. By organizing such meetings, you help us learn more about each organization’s work, establish partnerships, and act more effectively together,” — notes Head of Khrystoforivka village in Bashtanka Hromada, Mykolaivska Oblast, Larysa Khrustavka.

“Our goal is to ensure that no need remains unnoticed and unmet. So that together we can help all residents of the areas retaken by Ukraine who require assistance,” emphasizes Strategic Communications Director of the Legal Development Network Halyna Kolesnyk.

Joint Efforts to Avoid Duplication of Assistance

An important component in finding solutions to systemic issues of humanitarian response is the reliability of data on needs.

“There are coordination systems, there are cluster systems. Each of them verifies certain categories of people and their needs in order to address them. And sometimes we do this in parallel, sometimes in coordination, sometimes not in coordination.
This year we would also like to focus on closer cooperation with representatives of the cluster system in order to meet these needs in communities more accurately and effectively, and to avoid their duplication,” notes Program Manager of the Legal Development Network Viktor Alkhimov.

Particularly important were the words about readiness for change: the team emphasized its flexibility and openness to new proposals that could improve the coordination of humanitarian response, as well as its willingness to listen to partners’ recommendations.

Program Director of the Legal Development Network Oleksii Tertyshnyi explains that the Link team pays a lot of attention to avoiding duplication in the humanitarian response field. One of the tools for this is the Link mechanism platform, where the “Hromada Cabinet” and the “Partner Cabinet” operate, allowing convenient access to current needs, booking them for fulfilment, and monitoring their status.
“The platform is built in such a way as to eliminate duplication. As soon as one of the organizations books a need, it automatically becomes visible to all other partners. Everyone can see which organization is the implementer and what the status of the need is,” says Oleksii Tertyshnyi.

Cluster representatives who attended the meeting highlighted the importance of keeping coordination in focus.

“We value that the representatives of the Link platform understand the importance of avoiding duplication. In Kherson, apart from the cluster system and the Link platform, there is also the local ABC coordination. It is very important for us to have a common understanding and vision of how to better provide humanitarian assistance,” notes Regional Protection Cluster Coordinator at the Southern Hub Oleh Topchiiev.

Humanitarian System Reset: from Nine to Eight Clusters

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) coordinates assistance through the cluster system. In Ukraine, out of the 11 global clusters, nine were functioning, but the system is now undergoing fundamental changes.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Cluster Coordinator Serhii Husak (with a microphone)

The WASH Cluster Coordinator Serhii Husak notes that certain clusters in Ukraine are being merged.

“Preliminarily, it is expected that fewer than eight clusters will remain in Ukraine. Some clusters are consolidated, while the mandates of others are transferred to the relevant ministries. It is worth stressing that the activation, transformation, or deactivation of clusters is a normal practice governed by the provisions of the IASC (Inter-Agency Standing Committee) and reflects the dynamics of the humanitarian context and stages of transition. The Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Cluster continues to perform its core functions, although a reduction in the scope of activities is possible.

At the same time, we are actively looking for localized partners who could contribute to strengthening coordination at the oblast level and facilitate the gradual transfer of roles within the framework of humanitarian response localization,” explains Serhii Husak.

Oleh Topchiiev adds that the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs develops the humanitarian response plan for the whole of Ukraine annually. Four key priorities are defined for the current year, within which the clusters build strategies and recommendations for partners:

1.      Responding to shelling.

2.      Supporting evacuations.

3.      Providing humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable groups of people in front-line areas.

4.      Contributing to solutions that help address the issue of long-term displacement.

The plan for 2025 is revised due to the suspension of USAID funding, which has led to changes in the work of the clusters. These changes reflect the evolution from broad humanitarian support to focused response to the most urgent needs in front-line areas.
“All clusters are forced to reprioritize within the priorities that had been defined earlier for this year. We are also witnessing a general shift in humanitarian response towards those oblasts where the front line is located,” explains Oleh Topchiiev.

“For Everyone, or for No One”: Why Aid Is Becoming Targeted

Representatives of the Link platform offices in Mykolaivska and Khersonska Oblasts note that in the past six months there has been a growing trend of providing assistance only to certain categories of people in hromadas. This is also confirmed by partners.

“In the context of changing priorities and shrinking funding, humanitarian aid is becoming even more targeted, focusing primarily on families and communities in the highest degree of vulnerability. In situations where it is impossible to help everyone, we are obliged to first see those who are in the most acute need so that the support remains not only logistically feasible, but also morally justified,” explains the Shelter and Non-Food Items Cluster Coordinator of the Southern Hub Tetiana Kurinska.

Transparent and consistent communication with hromadas and partners is key to forming a common vision, understanding priorities, and maintaining trust under conditions of change.

“Sometimes hromada representatives do not understand that our fund, like any other, has a limited target group. We work exclusively with families in difficult life circumstances who are raising children under 18, as well as with foster families and family-type children’s homes. For example, during the organization of humanitarian aid distribution, one can hear things like: ‘What about elderly people? They will come to you, but we cannot turn them away.’ This is a challenge that is not always easy to solve,” says the Director of the Mykolaiv Program of “SOS Children’s Villages” International Charitable Organization Ivan Bondarchuk.

Categorization is a challenge not only for humanitarian organizations but also for hromadas. Organizations have clear mandates regarding target groups. Local authorities help select recipients, but this often causes suspicions of unfair distribution.

“For the Link team, the issue of categorization is also a challenge. We also face situations where hromadas say: ‘Either for everyone, or for no one.’ I think it is necessary to pay attention to informing people about why such categories and situations are chosen in humanitarian response overall,” notes Legal Development Network Program Manager Viktor Alkhimov.

Water, Heating, and Other Specific Needs: What Most Concerns Front-Line Hromadas

One of the most pressing comprehensive problems remains water supply: repairing damaged and destroyed pipelines, providing spare parts for pumps, and so on. This problem is especially acute in areas retaken by Ukraine in Khersonska and Mykolaivska Oblasts. Repairing pipelines requires significant funds, which are difficult for a single organization to allocate.“Last year we worked with the HEKS/EPER charitable fund. We are very grateful to them. They replaced two kilometers of the pipeline in the village. On the streets with the new pipeline, people are provided with water. The result impresses local residents: a treatment facility connected to our network is installed. People are really surprised because when you wait for a long time, fight for it, write programs, and then finally it happens, it a real breakthrough, even during wartime. However, 3.5 kilometers of the pipeline still remain, where ruptures occur constantly,” says the Head of Khrystoforivka village in Bashtanska Hromada of Mykolaivska Oblast Larysa Khrustavka.

Novovorontsovska Hromada becomes an example of how it is possible to adapt to new realities. Deputy Head of the Novovorontsovska Settlement Military Administration of Khersonska Oblast Nataliia Lytovchenko explains:
“In 2023–2024 we prepared project documentation for the construction of seven new boreholes in the settlement of Novovorontsovka, because it suffers the most from lack of water supply.”

With the support of UNICEF, the hromada implements this ambitious project, and also cooperates with the Dutch organization VNG on replacing an 8-kilometer section of the water pipeline. An innovative solution is the introduction of solar power plants to ensure autonomous operation of the boreholes.

As Nataliia Lytovchenko describes: “Today, on two boreholes, one in Novovorontsovka and one in the village of Myroliubivka, solar panels are already installed. And this greatly simplifies and reduces the cost of both water supply and round-the-clock provision of water for people. However, such panels are not yet available on all boreholes.”Apart from water supply issues, frontline hromadas face unique security challenges. Novovorontsovska Hromada has “a very great need for fire extinguishers” for the settlement located “directly on the front line on the very bank of the Kakhovka Reservoir.” As Nataliia Lytovchenko explains, around 150 people remain there today who are in need of fire extinguishers, because the State Emergency Service and firefighters cannot enter due to the ban on trips to hot spots.

Director of the Municipal Utility of Bilozerska Hromada of Khersonska Oblast Liudmyla Vdovychenko

The most striking testimonies come from hromadas located directly on the front line. Director of the Municipal Utility of Bilozerska Hromada of Khersonska Oblast Liudmyla Vdovychenko describes the daily struggle to maintain basic services: “Even in such a terrible time, despite the shelling, workers of ‘Avers’ provide people with water. Whether in the evening or early in the morning they deliver fuel for the generators and pump water. There are few people left in the villages, they are without electricity, without gas, and we cannot leave them without water.”

Preparation for winter is a topic that concerns hromada representatives already now.

“Our hromada is located in a 17-kilometer zone, which is a potential combat zone. While the issue of providing families with stove heating is more or less clear, for several years we have faced the issue of paying utility services for people who use gas and for those who use electricity,” says the Leading Specialist of the Accounting and Finance Department of Muzykivska Hromada of Khersonska Oblast Halyna Adamkovych.

Shelter and Non-Food Items Cluster Coordinator of the Southern Hub Tetiana Kurinska notes that one of the three key goals of the Cluster is to support families in preparing for the winter season. Preliminary planning this year starts as early as the end of May.
“Our activities include not only the provision of solid fuel, but also insulation of houses that do not meet defined humanitarian standards, the distribution of winter clothing, as well as assistance in paying utility services during the winter. We understand that not all organizations are able to cover all these areas, but we are ready to communicate this at the next Cluster meeting with partners,” explains Tetiana.

Oleh Topchiiev outlines another of the most urgent problems: “This is the problem of providing services to people with reduced mobility, people with disabilities, and in particular the evacuation of people with reduced mobility.”The paradox is that “there are organizations, there are partners who can provide such evacuation. But the problem is that, unfortunately, we do not have enough places adapted for the accommodation of such people with reduced mobility.”

One of the key challenges is the insufficient understanding by hromadas of the humanitarian system structure. As Humanitarian Affairs Officer of UN OCHA Sinaver Seitumerov explains: “It can be difficult for hromadas to fully understand the structure of humanitarian coordination. Perhaps we need to provide more information about whom to contact for particular issues.”
Sinaver Seitumerov emphasizes the importance of strengthening connections: “In the future, it is possible to strengthen this link between local coordination and the formal part of coordination.”
The Organization is ready to bring multisectoral issues “to a more comprehensive and broader discussion” through the Humanitarian Operational Group.

Given the numerous challenges that arise every day, it becomes obvious that the future of humanitarian response in Ukraine is closer coordination between formal (UN clusters) and informal (Link, local initiatives) systems. Success depends on the ability of all actors in the process to speak the same language and work for a common result: so that no need remains unnoticed and unmet. Therefore, the presence of platforms for open dialogue between all parties involved is an important condition for quality assistance.

This material is prepared by the Legal Development Network in cooperation with the Czech Humanitarian Organization People in Need and with the financial support of the Government of the United Kingdom.
The conclusions and interpretations presented in the material are solely the position of the authors and do not reflect the views of the project donors and partners.

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