Approximately 120,000 internally displaced persons reside in the Mykolaiv region

Head of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration Vitaliy Kim. Archive photo: NikVesti

There are currently about 120,000 internally displaced persons living in the Mykolaiv region, including 50,000 people of retirement age and about 20,000 children.

As Vitalii Kim, head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, said in an interview with Novyny.LIVE, the number of internally displaced persons in the region used to be around 180,000–200,000.

«We currently have approximately 120,000 internally displaced persons. I remember that previously there were about 180,000–200,000. Of these, 50,000 are pensioners and approximately 20,000 are children. Therefore, we provide them with a full social package,» said Vitalii Kim.

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He added that there are plans to provide internally displaced persons with free housing.

«Despite this, it is not enough, because we all live somehow: some have been living with the war for four years, some for ten, and some since 2014. IDPs face constant problems; they do not live at home, and their lives are uncertain. The main issues for them are security, housing, and work. Therefore, state and local programmes are aimed at increasing housing. It is impossible to build another 120,000 flats in a year and distribute them to all IDPs free of charge, but this is the goal. Hundreds of millions of hryvnias have already been paid out in compensation for housing, repairs to damaged property and other programmes for internally displaced persons,» added Vitalii Kim.

Mykolaiv wants to change the procedure for allocating housing to displaced persons: what is known

In Mykolaiv, the executive committee plans to transfer the functions of distributing housing for IDPs. Currently, such housing funds and their distribution are approved by a session decision. The decision was supported by the commission on human rights, children, family, legality, and transparency. Serhii Voitovych, head of the housing registration and distribution department of the Mykolaiv City Council, explained that with the changes in legislation, the city council must officially determine which body will form and distribute temporary housing for people who have been forced to leave their homes.

We would like to add that there are 65 modular houses for internally displaced persons in the Mykolaiv region. In addition, the first two families of displaced persons received farm-type houses, which were built in the village of Domanivka in the Mykolaiv region at the expense of the Kingdom of Denmark.

At the same time, in Voznesensk, 1.5 million hryvnias were allocated from the city budget to purchase apartments for internally displaced persons. After the purchase, the housing is planned to be renovated with funds from donors. It should also be noted that organisations providing shelter to displaced persons will be able to rent state and municipal premises for a symbolic fee: from one hryvnia per year or 0.01 of the calculated rate.

Over three years, more than 75,000 people have left Mykolaiv

The population of Mykolaiv has decreased by more than 75,000 people in three years. While in February 2022, about 469,000 people lived in the city, as of the beginning of 2025, only 394,300 people were registered in the community registry. Thus, in three years, the city has lost more than 75,000 people. This is evidenced by data from the city council's economic development department in the community budget forecast for 2026–2028.

At the same time, the number of officially registered unemployed in the city in 2026 is forecast to be 804 people, and in 2028 — 756. Mykolaiv also remains a city that accepts internally displaced persons. While there were 63,600 such persons at the beginning of 2025, more than 73,000 are expected in 2028.

Key economic and social development indicators for Mykolaiv. Source: information from the Economic Development Department of the Mykolaiv City Council

Despite the demographic decline, the situation on the labour market is improving. According to the regional employment centre, the number of unemployed in the Mykolaiv district decreased by 34.5% — from 8,751 people at the beginning of 2024 to 5,729 at the beginning of 2025. As part of the state programme «eRobota» (eWork), 10 city residents even started their own businesses.

Income levels will also grow. The average salary in the city is forecast to rise from 18,000 hryvnias in 2024 to 25,000 hryvnias in 2028.