Abstract
<jats:p>The purpose of this article is to conduct a spatial assessment of the behaviour of local communities in the region with regard to the financing of social development programmes and projects in wartime conditions. The full-scale war led to a decline in Ukraine's macroeconomic development indicators, unregulated external and internal migration, and, accordingly, a decrease in state and local budget revenues. In such difficult conditions, local authorities, particularly in the Volyn region, had limited opportunities to fill local budgets, including expanding funding for the social sphere. A decrease in regional budget expenditures (adjusted for prices at the beginning of 2021) was identified, both in general and in the social sphere, which covers expenditures on education, health care and social protection. Local government budget administrators did not allow a significant reduction in expenditure on these items (-10.1%), unlike regional budget administrators (-15.4%) or district budget administrators (-85.6%). In the budgets of local communities, the share of spending on social measures remained at 70%, although it also decreased compared to pre-war 2021 (76.7%). A spatial assessment confirmed that the greatest problems with financing social development are faced by communities bordering Belarus, as well as most other communities in the Polissya region. Meanwhile, positive dynamics were ensured by one urban community (Volodymyr-Volynska) and two suburban communities (Pidhaitsivska and Boratynska). Therefore, in conditions of limited internal capabilities, it is important to provide organisational, methodological, institutional and advisory support to the relevant communities in the region in order to activate their participation in international projects and programmes, involve them in scientific consortia, etc. to attract additional funds for the implementation of local social initiatives.</jats:p>