«Until people come out to the square, there will be no results»: a deputy of the regional council about cutting down trees in Mykolaiv

On the alley along 142 Kosmonavtiv Street in Mykolaiv, trees are being cut down to install a kiosk, September 12, 2024, photo: MP Maksym Kovalenko

Alla Riazhskyh, deputy of the Mykolayiv Regional Council from the «European Solidarity» party, who heads the regional commission on ecology, criticized the city authorities for inaction regarding the mass destruction of trees in the city.

This is reported by NikVesti.

As you know, Maksym Kovalenko, a deputy of the city council from the «Proposition» party, previously reported that in the Ingul district of Mykolaiv, trees are being cut down for the second day in a row to install trade stands.

Commenting on Maksym Kovalenko's Facebook post, Alla Riazhskykh marked the mayor of Mykolaiv, Oleksandr Sienkevych, and the city's chief architect, Yevhen Poliakov, accusing the city authorities of inaction.

«This is a direct inaction of the executive power in the city. Until people start going out to the gray square, there will be no point,» she wrote, commenting on the post of MP Maksym Kovalenko.

Alla Riazhskyh's comments under the post of the city council member regarding the felling of trees in the Ingul district of the city. Photo: Screenshot from Facebook

Alla Riazhskyh's comments under the post of the city council member regarding the felling of trees in the Ingul district of the city. Photo: Screenshot from Facebook

It should be noted that recently the commission of the regional council on ecology, after consultations with the Mykolaiv Housing and Housing Department and the State Environmental Inspection, recommended the city authorities to introduce a moratorium on rejuvenating pruning of trees in the city.

NikVesti turned to Alla Riazhskyh for a comment, who said that the city authorities have not yet reacted to the proposal to introduce a moratorium. She called the cutting down of trees, which continues in Mykolaiv today, a mess.

«Well, how can you react to cutting down trees? It's a mess in the city. This is not normal. Such trees are expensive and were not planted by those who install these kiosks. After my proposal to introduce a moratorium, there was no response from the representatives of the executive power. I think that next week I will make an appointment with Mr. Oleksandr Sienkevych, and ask where the recommendation on adopting the moratorium has gone. Instead of protecting green areas, trees are being destroyed in Mykolaiv for the sake of temporary MAFs. In Odesa, on the contrary, business preserves large trees, making them decoration of city objects,» she emphasized.

The deputy believes that symbolic fines for cutting down trees — only 510 hryvnias — are not capable of stopping violators.

«These are ridiculous amounts. «I have repeatedly appealed to the government to increase the fines, but nothing has changed yet,» said Alla Riazhskyh.

She also emphasized the importance of preserving green spaces in the face of climate change and military operations.

«We understand that every missile attack damages the environment, and we all breathe it. Each adult tree can retain up to 40 kilograms of dust per year. If there are no trees, it will all settle in our lungs. How can we be healthy without green spaces?» summed up the deputy.

We will remind, on July 25, the contracting organization Antares-Bud demolished more than 80 trees on the territory of the Mykolaiv Regional Clinical Hospital, which Mykolaiv residents began to complain about on social networks. The representatives of the eco-inspection responded to this, arriving at the site together with the police with the demand to provide all the permit documents. They also appealed to the law enforcement agencies regarding this fact.

In addition, on April 12, NikVesti wrote about the fact that several maple trees were completely cut down on the central Kibryk street in Voznesensk. In the place of four trees, only stumps will remain. Work on supervision of tree pruning was carried out by KP Teplo-Service.

After that, specialists of the ecological inspection conducted an examination and confirmed that four trees were damaged to the point of stopping growth during crown formation works. Utility workers must pay a fine of 3,750 hryvnias for damages.