The Danish ambassador about the fight against corruption in Mykolaiv: «We are monitoring what is happening»

Ambassador Ole Egberg Mikkelsen and the Mayor of Mykolaiv Oleksandr Sienkevych, photo: Mykolaiv City Council

The Kingdom of Denmark, which took patronage over the Mykolaiv Region, monitors and controls the direction of the city's financial expenses, which they cover. One of the factors of reducing risks is that all purchases are made through international organizations.

The Ambassador of Denmark to Ukraine, Ole Egberg Mikkelsen, said this in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.

The politician noted that reducing the risks of corruption in supporting Mykolaiv is a priority request for them in cooperation with the city.

«On the one hand, there is strong support for Ukraine, on the other hand there is concern, fear that there may be a lack of accountability, there will be corruption and something else. All the purchases we make in Mykolaiv are not made on site. There are no local purchases, everything is carried out through international organizations, primarily the procurement agency of the UN system. And this is one of the ways to reduce the risk of corruption,» said the ambassador of the kingdom.

In particular, there is an Office of the Embassy of Denmark in Mykolaiv for a thorough analysis.

«We are monitoring what is happening. That is why we have an office in Mykolaiv. Denmark also implements the European Anti-Corruption Initiative, which essentially created anti-corruption institutions. There is also a partnership with some municipalities, they are called «cities of honesty», one of them is Mykolaiv, so they have to meet strict requirements to reduce the risk of corruption. So that's an issue, it's something that's very high on the agenda. And the good thing is that we know that our Ukrainian partners know about this as well as we do, and I feel a strong commitment in Mykolaiv, in Ukraine in general, to ensure that everything is done in a way that does not jeopardize integrity. You cannot reduce the risk by 100%, but you can do a lot, and we try to do as much as possible, because it will affect public opinion very negatively,» said Ole Egberg Mikkelsen.

The last tranche received by the Mykolaiv region in January 2024 was aimed at:

• demining of agricultural land;
• provision of cogeneration facilities;
• reconstruction of the dormitory of the Mykolaiv State Agrarian University for fire safety, which will be carried out jointly with UNOPS Ukraine and All Ukraine.

In a comment to NikVesti, Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych previously noted that the funds allocated by Denmark go to units through the UN, UNDP, UNOPS, Danish Refugee Council, Danish Red Cross, IOM (International Organization of Migration).

It is worth emphasizing that in 2023, Denmark has already allocated more than 100 million dollars for the restoration of the Mykolaiv Oblast.

The beginning of Denmark's cooperation with Mykolaiv

In March 2022, the president of Ukraine, speaking in front of the Danish parliament, called on the country to take «leadership» over Mykolaiv after the end of the full-scale war unleashed by Russia.

At the end of August last year, Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych and Denmark's Minister of International Development Flemming Møller Mortensen signed a memorandum of cooperation. The memorandum envisages joint work on the formation of reconstruction projects and the involvement of investors from different countries in the restoration of Mykolaiv.

In January 2023, a meeting of representatives of Denmark and Ukraine took place in Mykolaiv regarding the planning of further restoration of the city.

On July 3, the Minister of the Kingdom of Denmark announced a new aid package for the Mykolaiv region.

In September, after a meeting with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the opening of the office of the Danish Embassy in Ukraine in Mykolaiv.

At the beginning of November, Denmark announced a new large-scale aid package to Ukraine for 40.2 million euros. The main emphasis in the aid package is on Mykolaiv and the Mykolaiv region.

Also in November, the Office of Reconstruction and Development of the Mykolaiv Oblast and the Office of Reconstruction and Development of the City of Mykolaiv became operational.

Postwar reconstruction of Mykolaiv

Currently, it is known that about 60% of the aid that Denmark sends to Ukraine goes to Mykolaiv and the Mykolaiv region.

At the annual forum of the publishing house «Legal Practice» Business & Legal Infrastructure Forum, the ambassador of Denmark to Ukraine announced the vision of the post-war reconstruction of Mykolaiv with friendly conditions for pedestrians and bicycle infrastructure.

While in Mykolaiv, the ambassador explained that after the end of the full-scale war, Denmark would help Mykolaiv to restore and modernize its shipbuilding capacity.

In addition, Denmark will rebuild the Lyceum named after Mykola Arkas while preserving its authentic appearance. As of September 2023, Ukrainian architects presented Ole Egberg Mikkelsen with reconstruction options.

Another educational institution that will be rebuilt by the Danes is Admiral Makarov National University of Shipbuilding (NUK). The Ambassador of the Kingdom of Denmark to Ukraine Ole Egberg Mikkelsen is sure that this will revive Mykolaiv as a «city of shipbuilding».

The ambassador also supported the idea of creating a Danish quarter or park in Mykolaiv, but today this issue remains at the idea stage.