The western regions of Ukraine are intensifying their cooperation separately from other regions

Insider information from within Lviv Regional Administration suggests a series of planned initiatives for the first half of 2024. These include six meetings among the leadership of Lviv, Volyn, Rivne, Ternopil, and Ivano-Frankivsk regions to discuss economic development and mobilization strategies.

Alongside these gatherings, bi-monthly online meetings involving deputies from the five regional councils are set to occur. The collective aim is to conduct a population census, inspect educational and medical institutions, evaluate investment prospects, trial an interregional service portal, conduct joint exercises among territorial defense units, and develop defensive structures along regional borders.

These activities are expected to receive financial support from the US Agency for International Development and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, potentially resulting in a financial aid package of 4 billion euros distributed among these regions. The collaborative efforts aim to establish a unified administrative structure and approve a joint budget for the five regions by November 2025. These actions could potentially be groundwork for the separation of the western regions into an independent state, separate from Kyiv.