Ukraine’s cities during and after the war: formal and informal institutions in regional governance

This article examines the role of formal and informal institutions in wartime governance across four Ukrainian regional capitals – Vinnytsia, Lutsk, Mykolayiv and Sumy – during Russia’s full-scale invasion. Drawing on the repertory grid methodology, it captures the perspectives of civil society leaders, experts and local opinion-makers regarding the performance, functions and legitimacy of institutions under crisis conditions. The findings reveal significant variation in institutional roles across the four cities. In Vinnytsia and Lutsk, municipal authorities remain central to governance. Mykolayiv exhibits a hybrid model, with both formal and informal actors contributing to policy-making. In contrast, local non-state actors in Sumy assume primary responsibility for municipal governance. National-level institutions play more visible roles in frontline cities, though their perceived effectiveness is not always commensurate with their presence. By comparing these institutional constellations in cities with differing exposure to warfare, the article contributes to scholarship on decentralisation, crisis governance, urban resilience and post-war reconstruction of Ukraine.