Savyntsi Territorial Community

History

Savyntsi is a place with a rich history. Information about this settlement dates back to 1671, when a guard post was established there under the leadership of Cossack Sava Rak. It was an important military settlement protecting the area against the attacks of the Crimean Tatars.

Over time, Savyntsi developed, became part of the defence system and was even a company town of the Kharkiv and Izyum regiments. They were of strategic importance; in particular, in 1679 the village became part of the Izyum defence line.

Throughout history, the residents of Savyntsi experienced various periods, including times of serfdom and famine. In the late 19th century, a military settlement was organized there and then dissolved with the local residents becoming state peasants.

In the 20th century, Savyntsi received the status of an urban-type settlement and became home to a significant number of people. Later, a large sugar factory was built there, which added to the development of the settlement. Over the years, the population changed, but Savyntsi remained an important administrative centre.

Recently, on 12 June 2020, an administrative-territorial reform was implemented, which impacted the status and the boundaries of the settlement, uniting the Savyntsi Settlement Council and the Vesele, Vyshneva, Zalyman, and Morozivka Village Councils, changing its administrative status as a community and including it in the Izyum District.

The most famous historical landmark of architecture in the Savyntsi Community is the windmill in the village of Morozivka built in the late 19th century. It was made of logs and is typical of the Slobozhanshchyna area, on a wooden chair, with six wings.

Economy and Welfare

There are fifty-two agricultural enterprises operating in the Savyntsi Community that work the land, grow, process and store products. To date, all of them are operating, not a single producer has left the Community. However, not all of them have managed to fully resume their operations because many territories are mined.

The residents themselves drove tractors out into the fields to find out the extent of the destruction. They burned stubble, launched drones, and looked for projectile fragments. The Savyntsi Community is helping its entrepreneurs survive this difficult period.

The top enterprises playing an important role in the Community are Ptakhokompleks Nova and S-Alpha Green LLC.

Ptakhokompleks Nova is located in the village of Morozivka and is part of the Novaagro Group of Companies. Its key operations include the breeding of rural poultry. It uses the technology of floor keeping and breeding of broilers, but in addition to this, the enterprise is engaged in other types of operations such as: cultivation of grain crops (except rice), legumes and oilseeds, breeding of pigs and other animals, auxiliary activities in plant and animal husbandry, production of poultry meat, wholesale trade.

Ptakhokompleks Nova has been operating since 2018 and currently has 10 aviaries with approximately 250,000 birds. Every day, the enterprise produces about 20-30 tons of meat. It supplies its products to the Kharkiv, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Poltava Regions. Ptakhokompleks Nova is an ambitious enterprise coming up with many new ideas and is constantly developing.

Today, S-Alpha Green operates 50 kilometres from the front line. During the years of the war, it has gone through many ordeals. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, its facilities have been under occupation. Wheat sown in the autumn, soil prepared for spring sowing, purchased fertilizers, seedbeds and plant protection products – all of that came to naught when the enterprise was taken over by the invaders. The vehicle fleet, warehouse infrastructure and facilities were completely destroyed, equipment and resources were looted. It seemed that these lands would have no future, but thanks to the perseverance of the people who work on them, the opposite has happened.

In September 2022, when the Community was liberated, the team returned to the facilities and began to relaunch the processes. The mined land bank was demined partly on their own, partly with the help of sappers. Equipment and production resources were gradually purchased to resume works.

Winter wheat, sunflower, millet, winter rapeseed, peas, soybeans are grown on 4,000 hectares of S-Alpha Green. In addition, they have been engaged in vegetable growing in the open ground for five years because currently vegetables are the most profitable crops in terms of yield per hectare. The harvest is sold both on domestic markets and abroad.

Special attention is paid to education in the Savyntsi Community. Due to military operations, only one educational institution has survived – the Savyntsi Lyceum attended by students from all the eighteen localities of the Community.

The Community also runs two culture centres and a music school being overhauled due to serious damages.

Thanks to the help of charitable organizations, a children’s space “New Day” and an educational digital space have been organized at the Savyntsi preschool education institution (nursery-kindergarten) No. 1. They contribute to the development and activity of children. Interesting events and workshops are often held there. There is also a shelter in the territory of the facility. Children’s development spaces have also been created at the Morozivka Culture Centre and in the Vyshneva Starosta-headed district.

In Savyntsi, the Outpatient Clinic of Family Medicine, which was overhauled after a missile hit the doctor’s room, receives patients every day.

Community and War

On 02 March 2022, as a consequence of the military aggression of the russian federation against Ukraine, the russian troops and motor vehicles began to actively arrive in the Savyntsi Community. Until 10 September 2022, the territory of the Community was occupied by the aggressor country.

Six months of torture and abuse. The eighteen localities of the Community were without livelihoods, it was difficult to transport Ukrainian humanitarian aid. There was no electricity and gas.

The local residents experienced the cruelty of the russian army. This was especially true in case of people who stayed in the territory of the occupied Community and had a pro-Ukrainian position. Unfortunately, there were people in the territory of the Savyntsi Territorial Community who were tortured by the russians and died as true patriots.

People showed their invincibility in every way. One of them is a 70-year-old man, Anatolii Harahatyi, who was held captive by the russian invaders for 100 days for posting a video on YouTube showing how on March 02 tanks with russian military personnel entered the territory of the Community and drove down Soborna Street. The man suffered from physical and psychological abuse, lost weight, but not a pro-Ukrainian position. He was saved only by the de-occupation and now he continues to record all the crimes committed by russians across the Community.

During the hostilities in the territory of the Savyntsi Community, 615 buildings were damaged, and 200 of them were completely destroyed. Three schools, a culture centre, an administrative building, a family medicine outpatient clinic were destroyed, and a total of eighteen infrastructure facilities were damaged.

After de-occupation, recovery began quickly. The state, volunteers and international funds are actively rebuilding housing and Community infrastructure.

In addition to reconstruction, it is important for the Community to support the front. There is a volunteer hub there – about 50 women weave camouflage nets and send foods to the front line every day.

People of the Community

After the de-occupation of the Savyntsi Settlement Territorial Community, the Savyntsi Settlement Military Administration was created with Oksana Suprun as its head.

Children’s spaces and a youth hub have been created in the Community. These spaces have become a place not only for recreation, but also for the development and education of children and youth. The youth hub provides young people with opportunities for self-realization, by holding various events and meetings, contributing to the active involvement of young people in Community life.

Considerable attention has been paid to the optimization of educational institutions. Under the leadership of Oksana Suprun, modernization of schools and kindergartens has been carried out, new educational programs have been introduced that meet modern standards. This made it possible to improve the quality of education and provide comfortable and, most importantly, safe conditions for children.

The opening of the Administrative Services Centre was a step towards building an efficient and accessible government, where residents can quickly and conveniently get the necessary documents and consultations.

Oksana Suprun has contributed to the 100% restoration of health care services in the Community. The work of the outpatient clinic of general practice of family medicine was resumed, and the necessary equipment and medicines were provided.

During the occupation, the Savyntsi Community was left without water, electricity and gas. Thanks to the efforts of Oksana Suprun, it was possible to quickly restore water supply, which became one of the most important achievements in the process of infrastructure restoration. Overhauls and modernization of the water supply system ensures a stable supply of water to every home.

To ensure the Community’s energy independence and sustainable development, solar panels have been installed on the well. This solution not only contributes to environmental safety, but also ensures uninterrupted water supply even in the event of power outages.

One of the important steps has been the installation of a video surveillance system across the Community. This system makes it possible to quickly respond to any incidents and ensure order and safety in the localities.

In order to expand cooperation and attract additional resources for Community development, Oksana Suprun signed about 32 memoranda with various organizations and partners. Those efforts have made it possible to obtain support and financing for the implementation of important projects.

Development Strategy

Strategic planning is the basis of effective Community performance. Currently, the Savyntsi Settlement Council is actively engaged in the drafting of a development strategy for the period until 2024. A Memorandum of Cooperation was signed with the project “Support to Ukraine’s Reforms for Governance” (SURGe) – a project for inclusive governance in Ukraine implemented by Alinea International and financed by the Ministry of International Affairs of Canada since 2019. SURGe is the successor of the project “Expert Deployment for Governance and Economic Growth” (EDGE), which was implemented in 2015-2019. It implements the CLIR (Community-led Inclusive Recovery) initiative to support territorial communities in sustainable, inclusive, social and economic recovery. The anticipated results under this Memorandum:

• Increasing the capacity of the territorial community in strategic and spatial planning, project management and development of relevant planning documentation.
• Introducing and developing the required documents and tools for data collection, as well as improvement of skills in working with state digital tools (including: DREAM, Unified State Electronic System in Construction, Geoinformation system of regional development).
• Improving the provision of services to citizens (social, legal, medical, educational, communal, etc.) based on the principles of barrier-free, inclusive and sustainable development.
• Taking the necessary measures to attract foreign investments, develop the economy and local entrepreneurship.
• Increasing the capacity of the territorial community in the field of infrastructure and civil protection.
• Increasing the capacity of the territorial community regarding the collection and analysis of data based on the principles of barrier-free, inclusive and sustainable development.

Sources

• Official website of the Savyntsi Settlement Territorial Community: gromada.org.ua
• Official Facebook page of the Savyntsi Community: facebook.com
• A collection of photos of the Savyntsi Settlement Military Administration