A social protection programme worth over ₴1.3 billion has been approved in Mykolaiv: where the funds will be allocated
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- Darina MelnychukCorrespondent
The Resilience Centre in Mykolaiv, archive photo NikVestiMembers of the Mykolaiv City Council have backed the «Social Protection» Programme for 2027–2029, with total funding of over ₴1.3 billion. It provides for payments to the families of the deceased, support for the children of the deceased, subsidised travel and funding for municipal services.
This was announced during a session of the Mykolaiv City Council on Friday, 6 November, according to NikVesti.
During the meeting, Nadiia Skopenko, head of the Social Payments and Compensation Division of the Department of Labour and Social Protection, presented the programme’s key provisions.
According to her, the aim of the programme is to improve the level of social protection for the community by enhancing the social support system and the provision of social services. The total funding for the programme over three years amounts to 1 billion 312 million 880 thousand hryvnias.
Key areas of focus include cash payments to the families of the deceased, support for the children of the deceased, funding for municipal institutions under the department’s jurisdiction, concessionary travel on municipal public transport, as well as other benefits and compensation.
During the discussion, Councillor Yurii Stepanets expressed his gratitude for the organisation of trips by low-floor buses for people with disabilities to the beach in Odesa.
«I would like to thank you for your help in organising the trips that took place this year. There were fewer of them, but despite the circumstances we are currently facing, they did take place. I am referring to the trips on low-floor buses for people with disabilities to the beach in Odesa. Thank you to everyone who was involved in this process, particularly those who helped coordinate it. I’m delighted that we managed to organise this, despite one trip being cancelled due to a technical fault with the bus, which, unfortunately, was unable to take the passengers and had to turn back after a long wait,» said Yurii Stepanets.
Screenshot of the broadcast He asked how much funding had been allocated for such transport services and how many trips were planned for the coming years.
Nadiia Skopenko explained that for 2027, this initiative had been included as part of the «Mykolaiv Without Barriers» programme. The plan is to organise approximately 10 trips. The final costs will depend, in particular, on the price of fuel.
The councillor also drew attention to the increase in expenditure on subsidised bus travel. According to him, in 2025, around 109 million гривень had been earmarked for this purpose for 8,752 beneficiaries. By contrast, the programme has already allocated 198 million hryvnias for 16,510 people in 2027.
It should be noted that the expenditure has been spread over three years: 409.5 million hryvnias in 2027, 440.7 million in 2028, and 462.7 million hryvnias in 2029.
Following the discussion, councillors backed the programme: 34 councillors voted «for», with no votes «against» or «abstentions». The resolution was adopted.
It should be noted that, according to the draft resolution, the largest portion of the funds is earmarked for compensating transport operators for subsidised travel for certain categories of residents on city buses. A total of 632.5 million hryvnias has been allocated for this over three years — almost half of the programme’s total budget.
It should be recalled that the Department of Labour and Social Protection of the Mykolaiv City Council signed a contract for social support during inclusive education, despite comments from the State Audit Service. This is already the third agreement concluded with the same contractor — the NGO «Ukrainian Foundation for Care and Health». The previous two agreements were terminated. However, the department considers the auditors’ observations regarding the termination of the third agreement to be unfounded.
