Vilniansk Territorial Community

History

The cozy town of Vilniansk is located in the upper reaches of the Vilnianka River, which is where its name comes from. The territory of the region in the 16th-17th centuries was a part of the Free Army of Zaporizhzhia Cossacks. The first settlements of Zaporizhzhia Cossacks arose on the slopes of gullies, ravines, bayraks, along the banks of the rivers Dnipro and Vilnianka.

Modern Vilniansk was formed from the village of Sofiivka, which appeared near the railway station of the same name in 1873.

After the German colonist Klassen constructed an iron foundry mechanical plant in the 19th century, the economic, cultural and educational development of the town began.

Economy and Welfare

The industrial complex of the community has always played a significant role in the development of the community.

With the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine, most enterprises were forced to suspend their production activities, some of them had to to work at reduced capacity and introduce part-time working hours.

With the beginning of the war, RIST Scientific and Production Enterprise took advantage of the business relocation program and moved its production facilities to safer areas – the city of Lviv.

At the same time, during 2023 (compared to 2022), almost all enterprises of the community resumed their work.

In 2023, the executive committee of the Vilniansk Town Council and the communal institution “Vilniansk Centralized Library System” of the Vilniansk Town Council took part in the Project “Human Dimension – Inclusive Data for Stability and Development”, which is implemented by the International Organization for Migration with the financial support of the Embassy of Canada in Ukraine.

The goal of the project was to create a community youth space by creating a Bibliohub on the basis of the Vilniansk Central Library to improve the social adaptation of children and young people, the integration of internally displaced children and children with disabilities.

When arranging spaces for communication, discussions, meetings, learning, leisure, and games for visitors, the library staff tried to create comfortable conditions for multifaceted leisure time. In this way, 3 spaces were created – a cinema hall, a computer classroom and a game room.

The field of education works effectively in the Vilniansk community. There are 6 institutions of general secondary education, 3 communal institutions of preschool education, 2 schools of aesthetic education, 1 sports school for children and young people, 1 inclusive resource center and 1 center for children’s and youth creativity.

The community has 1 hospital, 11 dispensaries, 8 medical and midwifery stations, 19 medical stations, and an emergency medical care department.

Community and War

With the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Vilniansk community took on a large part of the important tasks and challenges:

• accommodation of internally displaced persons,
• providing residents with humanitarian aid and psychological support,
• strengthening measures for civil protection of the population and timely awareness of military threats,     
• support of Ukrainian defenders and volunteer patriotic movement.

The Vilniansk urban territorial community cooperates with such public organizations and international donors as ADRA Ukraine, the Norwegian Refugee Council, the Danish Refugee Council in Ukraine (DRC), the charity foundations “Caritas Zaporizhzhia”, “Right to Protection”, “Unity for the Future”, “DORCAS”, “East SOS”, “Zaporizhzhia Platform for Joint Actions”, and various UN entities.

Thanks to this cooperation, the community receives building materials, generators, computer equipment, and humanitarian food kits for internally displaced persons.

As a result of russian shelling, communal and private enterprises, critical infrastructure facilities and private houses were destroyed.

The premises of the Vilniansk Multidisciplinary Hospital were significantly damaged. As of now, repair work has been carried out in the treatment building (therapeutic department and intensive care unit). Their restoration takes place at the expense of benefactors from Germany, the Netherlands and the Baltic countries. The maternity ward, which was completely destroyed by a rocket, is to be dismantled.

The medical facility has fully resumed operations: the offices that were located in the destroyed building are now functioning in another building and are equipped with all the necessary equipment. Patients are admitted as usual.

People of the Community

Natalia Musiienko was awarded the 3rd Degree Order “For Merit to the Zaporizhzhia Region”, the Order of the Union of Armenians of Ukraine “Holy Martyrs – Victims of the Armenian Genocide”. In connection with the events in the east of Ukraine, Natalia Musiienko has been an active participant in the volunteer movement since 2014. In 2013, she was awarded the 2nd degree sign of the Special Purpose Regiment of the Internal Military Forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.

Development Strategy

The main goals of the Development Strategy of the Vilniansk Urban Territorial Community for the period until 2029 and the Action Plan for 2023-2024 for the implementation of the Development Strategy of the Vilniansk Urban Territorial Community for the period until 2029 are as follows;

1. Creation of comfortable conditions for the life of the population of the community:

– providing the population with high-quality drinking water;

– development of utility infrastructure of the community;

– increasing the level of public safety and security;

– formation of an accessible and high-quality education system that meets the requirements of the community and society;

– formation of a patient-oriented health care system;

– providing the population with proper access to basic public services;

– expansion of opportunities to meet cultural and spiritual needs and ensure a healthy lifestyle;

– creation of a system of optimal support for recipients of social services;

2. Competitive economy of the community:

– increasing the competitiveness of the economy, attracting investments and developing entrepreneurship;

– development of the industrial complex and agriculture;

– development of tourism and creative economy;

3. Creation and development of a modern community territory management system:

– ensuring a transparent management system;

– optimization of land relations;

– increasing the efficiency of public finance management, distribution and use;

– stimulating the development of civil society;

– ensuring an ecologically safe and diverse community environment, forming ecological thinking.

Currently, the community determines the areas of development at the expense of local development programs.

The project “Construction of an inclusive rehabilitation center with a swimming pool in the town of Vilniansk, Zaporizhzhia region” was presented at the regional forum “New meanings and visions of the development of communities of the Zaporizhzhia Region affected by russian military aggression” held on June 28, 2024 in the town of Zaporizhzhia. The project was included in the catalog of the region’s investment projects.

List of Sources

• Official website of the Vilniansk Town Council 
• FB page
• Telegram channel