Info Session «:Finnish Experience for Ukrainian Municipalities: Modern Approaches to Shelter Construction»
On April 2, 2026, at 15:00 (Kyiv time), an online Info Session «Finnish Experience for Ukrainian Municipalities: Modern Approaches to Shelter Construction» will take place. The event is organized by Economy of Trust Ukraine in cooperation with Business Finland as part of the preparation for the REBIRTH OF UKRAINE Trade Mission to Finland and the Baltic countries.
Currently, almost all Ukrainian municipalities face an acute shortage of shelters for civilians. During wartime, this issue is directly related to the safety of people. At the same time, another important question is already emerging: how to plan shelters so that they remain useful in peacetime, serve the needs of municipalities and support the functioning of businesses.
Finland is a country that has developed one of the most advanced systems of civil protection structures of dual use in Europe – facilities that function as urban public spaces in peacetime and as safe shelters in times of crisis.
During the online event, participants will learn about the Finnish approach to the planning, construction, and management of civil protection shelters. The program of the info session is designed as a gradual transition from the general concept to a practical case and potential implementation in Ukraine:
Jyrki Härkki, Senior Advisor, Global Initiatives, Business Finland, will present the concept of civil protection shelters in Finland and explain how the Finnish shelter system is integrated into urban planning, residential construction, and public infrastructure.
Heikki Honkanen, representative of the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Finland, will discuss Finland’s state policy in the field of civil protection and cooperation with Ukraine.
Irma Savolainen, Project manager, City of Kuopio, will present a practical case of constructing a modern nuclear shelter in Kuopio (Finland) designed for 7,000 people.
Yuliya Chufistova, Member of the Presidium of the Mayors’ Club and Director of the UMEDA Development Agency, will outline the opportunities that the adoption of Finnish experience in shelter construction will open for members of the Ukrainian delegation within the framework of the upcoming trade mission.
On the Ukrainian side, participants of the Shelter’s Consortium of the Business Coalition within the Economy of Trust Ukraine ecosystem will be integrated into this info session:
- Yurii Tromsa, National Director of Peikko Ukraine
- Serhii Ivanov-Kostetskyi, Founder and Head of the architectural company «Kreatyv»
- Pavlo Kaiuk, PhD (Engineering), Associate Professor, IPMA Level B, PMP, Co-owner and Project Curator at Project Management Business Consulting (PMBC)
- Volodymyr Kostenko, Head of Development at URD
- Serhii Kazmirchuk, Representative of Beton Energo
The idea of the consortium is to consolidate the potential of Ukrainian companies working in the fields of design, construction, production of building materials and infrastructure management.
Such cooperation aims to create an integrated Ukrainian proposal for municipalities and international partners, as well as to establish a foundation for collaboration with Finnish and Baltic companies within large-scale projects.
We invite everyone interested to join the info session: https://forms.gle/optzwjornr39pKys9
This event will become an important step toward building a Ukrainian-Finnish partnership aimed at integrating effective solutions to ensure public safety.