«I don’t want to answer»: Sienkevych about the petrol station among the oak trees in Mykolaiv

Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych declined to answer a question from NikVesti regarding whether he supports the construction of a petrol station complex in the green belt on Bohoiavlenskyi Avenue. He emphasised that he is opposed to the felling of trees, but did not state his position on the construction of the petrol station itself.

As is known, the company «Svit Zdoroviia» passed the public consultation on its third attempt and received permission to build a petrol station complex with car service shops in the green belt near the Zoria factory in Mykolaiv. The relevant conclusion from the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine has been published in the Unified Register of Environmental Impact Assessments. According to the EIA report, 192 trees are planned to be felled during construction, for which a corresponding decision from the Mykolaiv Housing and Communal Services Department is required. Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych stated that the city authorities had not taken any decisions regarding the felling of trees.

«The City Council has not granted any permits for tree felling. I do not grant permission for tree felling. So, who can I influence? The State Environmental Inspectorate, which fines us, or someone else? Let everyone do their job, and all those responsible for this must bear personal liability, whether criminal or otherwise. And I’ll say it again: Mykolaiv City Council, despite any insinuations that we supposedly allowed the felling of any trees, has not granted any permits,» said Oleksandr Sienkevych.

«And generally speaking, what is your stance on the construction of a petrol station in this very area?» asked a journalist from NikVesti.

«What are you getting at? I don’t understand,» replied Oleksandr Sienkevych.

«I want to know your position,» said the NikVesti journalist.

Oleksandr Sienkevych refused to say whether he was ‘in favour’ of building a petrol station in the green zone. Photo: NikVesti

«Are you trying to twist the news or something? I don’t want to answer the same question ten times over,» replied Oleksandr Sienkevych.

«No, the question is simply whether you’re against it or in favour of it,» said the NikVesti journalist.

«I’ve told you my opinion: I’m against the felling of trees. What else do I need to say?» replied Oleksandr Sienkevych.

Oleksandr Sienkevych ended the conversation and left, despite the fact that NikVesti tried to ask one more question. In response, he noted that this was the last question.

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Recently, during a staff meeting, the mayor of Mykolaiv commented on accusations made by residents on social media that the approval process for the construction of a petrol station amongst the oak trees near Zoria was taking place under his «patronage», and stated that everything must be in accordance with the law, noting that the company «Svit Zdoroviia» had acquired this land at the junction of Kober Street and Bohoiavlenskyi Avenue even before he took office as mayor 10 years ago.

How, instead of going to court, the city council handed over the land for the construction of the petrol station

In spring 2025, environmentalists marked with paint the trees that, according to the development plan, are scheduled for felling; screenshot from a report by Suspilne Mykolaiv

The story surrounding the construction on Kober Street began in 2014. At that time, the company «Svit Zdoroviia» received a plot of land near Zoria-Mashproekt for the construction of a sports and health complex. Some of the trees on the site were felled back then.

In March 2014, the then acting mayor Yurii Hranaturov publicly acknowledged during a meeting of the city executive committee that the situation raised many questions, and stated that construction would be suspended until its feasibility had been clarified. Despite this, according to local residents, work continued — mainly at night.

In January 2015, the conflict escalated. Residents of houses on Kober Street and employees of the Zoria-Mashproekt plant took to the streets in protest. They claimed that a petrol station was being built on the site of the complex, despite the fact that, according to the documents, a health centre was supposed to be there. According to them, construction continued at night, despite a ban by the city council. They complained about the felling of around 100 trees in the park area, trenches in the courtyards and the disruption of the ecological balance in the industrial area.

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On 28 January 2015, the Mykolaiv City Council refused to renew the lease agreement for the land plot, which was due to expire, with «Svit Zdoroviia» LLC.

However, in 2014, «Svit Zdoroviia» managed to register ownership of the property, namely the unfinished building intended as a ‘sports and health centre’ (5% complete), which had been erected after the trees were felled.

In order to cancel the state registration of the unfinished building and effectively return the land to the city, the Mykolaiv City Council filed a lawsuit in May 2021. «Svit Zdoroviia», in turn, filed a counterclaim demanding the renewal of the land lease agreement.

Between 2021 and 2024, the Mykolaiv City Council and «Svit Zdoroviia» LLC were in litigation over the land. The former demanded that the state registration of the unfinished building be cancelled and that the plot be vacated, which the latter had failed to return to the city in 2015. In turn, the company argued that it had been paying rent to the city council all these years, despite the absence of a land lease agreement, and therefore demanded that the lease agreement be renewed. «Svit Zdoroviia» lost the case regarding the renewal of the agreement in 2023. Throughout this time, following a claim by the Mykolaiv City Council, the company’s property on the disputed plot was seized, and a construction ban was imposed.

Plans are in place to fell 192 trees for the construction of a petrol station, archive photo NikVesti

While the court proceedings were ongoing, in 2023 the Mykolaiv Department of Architecture commissioned the development of a Detailed Plan for the area, which included this green space, where a petrol station complex was envisaged. It was approved by the city council in February 2024.

The court was then due to resume consideration of the city council’s claim, but the council missed the deadline for rectifying the deficiencies in the claim, as a result of which, as early as March 2025, «Svit Zdoroviia» had all previously imposed restrictions on construction lifted through the courts.

Consequently, having lost the court case regarding the reinstatement of the land lease agreement, «Svit Zdoroviia» approached the city council in March 2024 with a request to transfer the plot of land under the unfinished building to them for five years, ‘for the construction of a sports and health centre and the maintenance of administrative buildings’. On 23 April, this matter was approved by the city council’s specialist land commission, and on 25 April

On 25 April, that is, just two days after the commission’s meeting, city councillors approved permission for the company «Svit Zdoroviia» to develop a land-use plan for the plot. This decision was taken as part of a package of other land-related issues.

Two months later, in June 2024, the company approached the city authorities with a request to change the designated use of the plot to the location and operation of road service facilities. This was despite the fact that the city council had repeatedly emphasised in court that the designated use of the land plot was exclusively for the construction of a health centre. This very designated use of the land as ‘land for health and recreation purposes’ is also confirmed by the State Register of Property Rights, to which the editorial team of NikVesti submitted a request.

This issue was also considered on 25 June 2024 at yet another meeting of the land commission. This draft decision was discussed for only a few seconds. In one of the Zoom windows, someone said: «I have no questions», and the councillors moved on to the next item.

By 27 July 2024, the session had already changed the designated use of the plot — now, instead of a sports centre, road service facilities can officially be located there. This decision was adopted as part of a package of other land-related issues. By 31 October 2024, Mykolaiv’s chief architect, Yevhen Poliakov, had issued the planning conditions and restrictions for the construction, details of which are available on the city council’s website.