The simultaneous influence of several processes characterizes the external environment of Ukraine's ecosystems. The main ones are the decentralization process and Ukraine's efforts to achieve sustainable development goals. The result of the decentralization of the administrative structure of Ukraine is the creation of united territorial communities. The concept of the decentralization process was defined in the early 2000s and supported by the government. Its implementation began in 2014 and continues to this day. Scientists from different countries came to the idea of ensuring sustainable development almost simultaneously, starting in the 70s of the last century. The formalization of sustainable development goals and the definition of indicators were adopted at the UN summit in 2015. All UN member states adopted the proposed Sustainable Development Goals. The program "On Sustainable Development Goals of Ukraine for the period up to 2030" was adopted by the Decree of the President of Ukraine in 2019. However, the armed aggression of the Russian Federation has nullified the efforts of many communities whose territories have been in the zone of hostilities and then occupied. The war has affected every community in Ukraine with different consequences. However, according to the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, an analysis of the dynamics of the indicators of achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals shows that they are primarily favorable. This contradiction requires additional research and should change views on the sustainable development goals paradigm with the addition of new goals and their concretization.