Boris Filatov told how the Dnipro survives under the blows of war, bureaucracy, and pressure on the city authorities

Dnipro has found itself on the front lines of logistics and defense, hosting hundreds of thousands of displaced people, keeping medical facilities running, and maintaining utility systems under constant threat of shelling and bombing. Every hryvnia of the city budget is the subject of heated debate, and decisions on spending on energy sustainability, road repairs, and supporting defense forces determine not only the comfort of residents, but also the city’s ability to survive the winter and prepare for new challenges.

Dnipro Mayor Borys Filatov said that the approach of hostilities to the Dnipro creates a special atmosphere in the city, as it is a significant military, medical, transport, and logistics center. He notes that the increase in the number of displaced persons, which is now officially about two hundred thousand, as well as the increase in the number of soldiers on the streets of the city, increases nervous tension among the population. Filatov believes that a greater threat than the immediate approach of the front is the improvement of Russian drones, and therefore a serious system of countering these threats is needed.

According to Filatov, the city’s infrastructure is suffering significant damage during the shelling. In Dnipro alone, more than one thousand four hundred houses were destroyed or damaged, of which more than nine hundred and sixty are multi-storey, and each arrival costs the city tens of millions of hryvnias.

The mayor notes that he himself has learned to live with short plans: to survive until spring, finish the heating season and begin preparations for the next one. He emphasizes that tragic events at the level of individual buildings do not change his desire to plan the life and work of the city consistently and carefully.

Financing defense needs

Filatov notes that the city budget for 2026 includes a record low amount for the defense forces — less than one percent of the city budget, only two hundred million hryvnias, compared to five hundred million last year and billions in the first years of the war. During the full-scale conflict, the city spent about eight billion hryvnias on the purchase of material and technical resources and direct cash subventions to assist the Defense Forces, and also allocated fifty-five thousand square meters of municipal property to accommodate the military and meet other needs.

The mayor of the city believes that this year’s budget restriction is explained by two main factors. Firstly, the growth of local government spending, as more and more financial obligations are being transferred to cities, and if this trend continues, Dnipro and other cities risk turning into institutions that function exclusively to pay utility bills and social benefits. Secondly, the complicated procurement procedure, due to which any purchase of material and technical means can lead to a criminal case, which forces the city authorities to switch to direct cash subventions instead of purchasing equipment or machinery.

Priorities and support for military units

Filatov emphasizes that despite the limited budget, the city continues to support the Defense Forces. Only at the last session, forty million hryvnias were allocated to the Azov and Areya units, because they really perform combat missions. At the same time, there are problems with the management of state subventions, because some military units receive funds that are not used and are returned to the budget, which creates the need for additional local expenditures. Due to bureaucratic requirements and restrictions of state structures, the command of military units asks for additional funds even when they have already received significant amounts.

Boris Filatov emphasizes that the city has its own financial discipline, thanks to which there are no debts for heat, water and electricity compared to other large cities. If the state had given Dnipro the same preferences as Kharkiv, the city authorities could have allocated much larger resources to support the army and social projects. In such a case, it is extremely important to balance support for the military and ensuring the city’s vital activities, so that even in difficult war conditions, the Dnipro infrastructure continues to function stably.

Financial challenges and resource use in Dnipro

The mayor of Dnipro mentions the removal of military tax on personal income, which amounted to about 120 billion hryvnias. This became the source of a significant discrediting campaign under the slogan “Drones, not stadiums.” Military personal income tax is not only a tax on military units, but also a tax on all security forces, including the police, the State Emergency Service, military units of the National Guard, and former internal troops that have been in Dnipro since its creation.

After the funds were withdrawn, the city authorities received a response to a request from the Association of Ukrainian Cities: the Ministry of Defense spent 45% of the funds, the Ministry of Strategic Industry – 2%, the State Service for Special Communications – 0, and the remaining approximately 70 billion returned to the budget and actually disappeared, without a clear report on their use. Filatov notes that the city authorities do not have information about the specific areas of expenditure of these funds, but are confident that they were not directed to the purchase of drones or the construction of stadiums.

The mayor emphasizes that the resources of the city budget are directed to practical measures to ensure the life of the community, in particular, to the insulation of the facades of apartment buildings, which ensures energy sustainability and allows residents to save 30–40% on heating in winter, and maintains a comfortable temperature in apartments in summer. The improvement of the city is not limited to decorative elements, but includes low-frequency pumps, generators and boiler rooms, which ensure the uninterrupted functioning of the municipal infrastructure during hostilities. Proper use of funds allows us to go through the heating season in difficult conditions much more efficiently than in many other territorial communities.

Filatov notes that infrastructure maintenance costs, even if they seem significant compared to the annual road repair budget, are necessary to ensure the stability of the city. Winter weather conditions in recent years have significantly exceeded the average, which leads to rapid wear of the road surface, and gives the example that problems with roads have been observed even in Germany. Any decisions regarding investments in improvements or infrastructure are accompanied by criticism from the population, which simultaneously demands both road repairs and the arrangement of public spaces, which creates constant tension in the management of the city budget.

Criminal cases and pressure on city authorities

Filatov notes that since the beginning of the full-scale war against the Dnipro City Hall, its structural units and municipal enterprises, 192 criminal cases have been initiated. Such attention from law enforcement agencies complicates the work of the city authorities, but emphasizes that he is not afraid to personally speak out and protect the interests of the community. The mayor compares the situation with other large cities and notes that Kharkiv has the opportunity to criticize various state structures without consequences, while in Dnipro even minimal criticism can lead to the start of new investigations.

Boris Filatov recalls examples of specific cases of persecution of city officials, in particular the head of a landfill, who, despite having three acquittals, remains under constant pressure from law enforcement agencies. Such actions are often related to business interests or political ambitions of other structures and emphasize the harm to people who are forced to spend their time and energy defending their reputation instead of fulfilling their professional duties.

“Now the mayor of Kharkiv can criticize the Minister of Energy, Ukrenergo and even the CCC. I don’t even want to imagine what would happen if I started criticizing Ukrenergo, Denys Anatolyovich Shmyhal and the CCC now. There would be a new criminal case. Personally, I am not afraid. I feel sorry for the people. People don’t want to work, they are simply tired of it.

Klitschko gave an example that he has a subordinate who has 8 suspicions. I have my own record holder who has 6 suspicions. When he is brought to court, the judge is surprised: “Why did you bring him here? A person has 3 bails, 3 personal obligations and house arrest. Will he be able to run somewhere?”, – says Filatov.