More than 1,200 reports concerning dangerous trees and branches remain unresolved in Mykolaiv

In Mykolaiv, municipal services are unable to keep up with residents’ reports of hazardous trees and dangerous branches. Over 1,200 requests are still pending.

This was discussed during an open staff meeting on Monday, 11 April, according to NikVesti.

Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych emphasised that the city is responsible for the safety of residents and the proper condition of green spaces, so the issue of hazardous trees must be a priority.

«I understand that we have some problems and limited resources, but we are responsible for the safety of residents and the proper condition of green spaces. That is why I am emphasising the sanitary condition of dry and hazardous trees. If funds need to be allocated to engage additional companies, institutions or organisations to assist you, I would like to hear about it,» said Oleksandr Sienkevych.

Against the backdrop of an increase in incidents of falling trees, he instructed the municipal enterprise «Mykolaiv Parks» to prepare detailed statistics and proposals for a large-scale renewal of the city’s green spaces.

»For example, how many we can remove — five trees or 100 trees a day. In total, there are roughly 250,000 trees, either dead or hazardous. We need to complete this task within a certain number of years. It’s not simply that we don’t have the money. That’s always the standard response. So I’d like to hear specific statistics and figures: what’s happening here, how much funding is required, who needs to be involved, do you have one or two cherry pickers, and so on,» said the mayor.

He added that the climate in the city is changing, so the old trees need to be gradually replaced.

«I understand that the number of such trees will be even greater, because our climate is changing and the trees are already ageing — many of them need to be felled and new ones planted. I therefore ask you to prepare these proposals and provide information regarding the inventory and plans for planting new trees,» noted Oleksandr Sienkevych.

According to Deputy Mayor Yurii Andriienko, in the last month alone, the city authorities received 148 reports regarding dangerous trees and branches, 32 of which were via Facebook. Only 30 requests were dealt with, including two from social media.

«In total, 1,228 requests remain to be dealt with, 162 of which are reports from Facebook,» said Yurii Andriienko.

He also noted that during the last storm, around 12% of the trees that fell had previously been included on the list of hazardous trees, but the environmental inspectorate had not approved their removal.

As a reminder, at the end of April in Mykolaiv, strong winds toppled over 160 trees. In total, the municipal utility received over 120 reports of fallen trees at various addresses due to the bad weather.

Recently, residents of Mykolaiv have been asking the city authorities to inspect and remove hazardous trees in the courtyards of residential buildings, near playgrounds and in pedestrian areas. Residents are complaining about dry branches, rotten trunks and trees that could fall during bad weather.

In 2025, the executive committee of Mykolaiv City Council adopted new procedures for the removal of trees, shrubs and other greenery in the city. Residents must now apply directly to the municipal enterprise «Mykolaiv Parks» to request the felling of trees.

In early 2026, it emerged that the city authorities wanted to simplify the tree felling procedure. As explained by Ihor Nabatov, Deputy Director of the Mykolaiv Department of Housing and Communal Services, this concerns trees that pose a potential threat to people, transport and property due to damage or other defects.

Subsequently, the executive committee approved amendments to the procedure for the removal of greenery, which allow for the felling of hazardous, dead and defective trees (with damage and defects to the trunks of various origins, — note) by a majority decision of the members of a special commission.

The scandal over the felling of oak trees in Mykolaiv

As is known, preparatory work for the construction of an OKKO petrol station and shops began in the Inhulskyi district of Mykolaiv this spring. The site is located at the junction of Bohoiavlenskyi Avenue and Kober Street — in a green area between high-rise buildings and the territory of the state-owned enterprise «Zoria»-«Mashproekt». On 7 May, the contractor, together with a representative of the State Environmental Inspectorate, surveyed the site. According to the calculations, 182 trees are set to be felled to make way for the project — mainly oak trees aged between 40 and 60 years.

It should be noted that preliminary public hearings were held online on 2 July. At that time, participants criticised the environmental impact assessment report and accused the developer’s representatives of plagiarism.

Mykolaiv’s chief architect, Yevhen Poliakov, also criticised the developer. Although he had previously expressed surprise that nearly two hundred mature oak trees were planned to be felled on the plot. Yevhen Poliakov stated that he had not agreed to the felling of oaks on this site; on the contrary, he had required the tenant to plant an additional 57 trees, and this, he said, was stipulated in the lease agreement. Furthermore, Mykolaiv’s chief architect asserts that the company «Svit Zdoroviia» has no right to «carry out actions that will lead to a change in the environmental situation», despite the fact that the very construction of the petrol station will already impact the environmental situation there.

For more details on the matter, read the article «How, instead of going to court, did the city council hand over land for the construction of a petrol station in Mykolaiv?».