The number of sets is limited 
The closure of nurseries, the Integrity Plan and the new structure of the Сity Сouncil: a report on the session of the Mykolaiv City Council
- News of Mykolaiv
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- Darina Melnychuk
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14:31, 01 May, 2026
Meeting of the 53rd ordinary session of the Mykolaiv City Council on 30 April. Photo: NikVestiOn Wednesday, 30 April, a plenary meeting of the 53rd regular session of the Mykolaiv City Council took place. During the meeting, councillors approved the updated structure of the executive bodies, adopted the Integrity Plan, and also supported the closure of one of the three nurseries.
For more details on the issues discussed at the session, see the report by NikVesti.
Conflict over the closure of nurseries
Recently, the Mykolaiv Education Department initiated a decision to close three nurseries: №104 (a nursery on Torgova Street in the Korabelnyi district), №128 (a nursery-kindergarten at the junction of Mariupolska and Pavlo Skoropadskoy Streets (formerly Admiral Makarov Street) and №138 (a nursery-kindergarten on Oleh Kravets Street in Balabanivka).
The official reason is the lack of, and impossibility of, providing shelter. During the committee meeting, the chair of the education committee, Hanna Nord, stated that it is the institutions themselves that are being proposed for closure, whilst the buildings will remain the property of the city.
Community activists Anna Kurkurina and Svitlana Fedorova attended the session calling for the opportunity to speak on this issue. They asked councillors not to support the decision to close the nurseries. However, Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych did not allow them to speak, noting that prior registration via the city council’s official website was required.
«We ask journalists to record the fact that we, as representatives of the community, have requested to speak. If the mayor does not give us the floor, we will state why we have come. This session has convened to close down nurseries, of which there is already a severe shortage in Mykolaiv. We ask journalists, the community and those councillors who still have a conscience and honour not to vote for the closure of nurseries. Not a single nursery has been built in Mykolaiv during the mayor’s 10-year term of office,» Svitlana Fedorova told the media.
The mayor of Mykolaiv refused to allow Fedorova and Kurkurina to speak at the city council session. Photo: NikVestiHowever, the mayor did not respond to this and continued his discussions with the councillors.
«It is difficult for me to comment on this, as people who call themselves representatives of the community are creating chaos instead of engaging in constructive work. Moreover, one of them is a former member of the regional council,» said Oleksandr Sienkevych.
Councillor Olena Kiseliova joined the discussion, noting that the information presented by Fedorova and Kurkurina was distorted and did not reflect the actual situation in the city.
«What is being said by them today, and indeed in some media outlets, is being presented in a distorted manner. This is very bad, because the city of Mykolaiv is effectively in a combat zone, and problems are being blown out of proportion where they do not exist,» said Olena Kiseliova.
Having been denied the opportunity to speak, both left the chamber, whilst the councillors continued with the approval of the agenda.
Councillors approved the new structure of the City Council
On its fourth attempt, the Mykolaiv City Council voted to approve changes to the structure of the executive bodies. Deputies had previously rejected this decision three times.
Vitalii Kim, head of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration and a city councillor, urged his colleagues not to drag out the process and to support the decision, emphasising the need to unblock the work of the city council and separate political disputes from technical issues.
«I too ask you to vote, because, as I understand it, some councillors — and there aren’t many of us left anyway — do not want to vote publicly, and there are those who are sabotaging the process. But this is a technical matter to unblock the work of the city council. I ask you to set aside your personal political ambitions so that the city council can function,» said Vitalii Kim.
Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych noted that the proposed changes are not final and may be subject to amendments.
«I have been working in this role for 11 years now. We have been preparing these changes for over six months. This is not the final version — further adjustments may be made as we go along,» he said.
Mayor of Mykolaiv Oleksandr Sienkevych. Photo: NikVestiAfter two further repeat votes due to technical glitches and an insufficient number of confirmed votes, the decision was passed on the fourth attempt.
In the end, 32 councillors took part in the vote: 28 in favour, 0 against, and 4 abstentions. The decision approved the total number of staff in the city council’s executive bodies at 1,115.
Integrity Plan
Councillors supported the draft Integrity Plan, which provides for the assessment of six key areas: procurement, land assets, infrastructure, local government, ethics and anti-corruption.
At the same time, Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych instructed that an updated working group be set up to finalise the document.
Councillor Olena Kiseliova noted that the Plan is rather declarative in nature and requires further refinement. According to her, the document underwent a lengthy discussion phase — from initial rejection to the introduction of amendments — yet even after this, it does not reflect the real risks faced by the community, particularly in the context of war and reconstruction.
«Corruption risks are something that accompany all aspects of life. If this Plan had been drawn up before martial law, it would have been different. Today, even in the process of housing reconstruction, new risks are emerging,» she added.
Olena Kiseliova, member of the Mykolaiv City Council and chair of the European Solidarity faction. Photo: NikVestiOlena Kiseliova proposed revising the approach to drafting the document and involving a wider range of experts.
As a result, councillors supported the Plan with 28 votes in favour. The mayor also instructed the creation of a new working group to draft an updated document.
Councillors allocated an additional ₴69.2 million to the Armed Forces
During the session, the council supported amendments to the 2026 municipal budget. This involves increasing expenditure by more than ₴69 million, funded by proceeds from the privatisation of municipal property. All these funds are planned to be directed towards supporting the Armed Forces.
As explained by the Director of the Finance Department, Vira Sviatelyk, the revenue side of the budget remains unchanged at 6.69 billion hryvnias, whilst expenditure will rise to 6.904 billion hryvnias. The additional funds will be covered by the balance of the special development budget fund.
Fedir Panchenko, Chair of the Budget Committee, noted that the committee had supported this decision unanimously, but recommended that, prior to the allocation of these funds at the executive committee meeting, the relevant proposals be submitted to the committee for consideration.
In the end, the councillors supported the decision, subject to the amendment, by 36 votes.
Closure of nurseries
Following discussions on a number of draft decisions, councillors of the Mykolaiv City Council voted to close just one nursery — №138 in Balabanivka. The votes on the other two — №104 and №128 — did not secure the required number of votes.
Councillors also raised the issue of the costs of maintaining the facilities whilst they are closed. According to the city council’s calculations, over four years, around 29 million hryvnias have been spent on the three non-operational nurseries, including staff salaries.
The head of the education department, Hanna Lychko, commented that Nursery №138 has not been operating since the start of the full-scale war, and it is impossible to resume educational activities there.
According to the official, Nursery №138 has not been operating since the start of the war and is unable to set up a shelter. The nursery has a capacity of only 26 children.
Councillor Olena Kiseliova noted that during the closure, staff were paid two-thirds of their salaries.
«We kept everyone on furlough, except for the caretaker. The nursery also has its own boiler room, and we even heated it on a limited basis,» confirmed Hanna Lychko.
Hanna Remennikova, a councillor on Mykolaiv City Council, and Oleksandr Bereza, head of the Central District administration and councillor. Photo: NikVestiMayor Oleksandr Sienkevych assured the council and the public that the buildings would not be privatised, but mothballed.
«There was a time when we lacked places in nurseries. It may be that after the war, people will return and the need will grow again. Therefore, we are not talking about privatisation now, but about the liquidation of legal entities,» he noted.
In the end, 29 councillors voted in favour of closing nursery school №138.
However, the city council did not support the closure of the other two nurseries — there were not enough votes. Regarding Kindergarten №128, located on Pavlo Skoropadskyi Street, it was noted that the building was constructed before 1917 and has no basement. In 2025, 2.5 million hryvnias were spent on its upkeep. Twenty-four councillors voted in favour of its closure.
Kindergarten №104 on Torhova Street. In 2025, 2.6 million hryvnias were spent on its upkeep. Before the war, around 60 children attended the kindergarten, despite a design capacity of 31. Twenty-six councillors voted in favour of its closure.
This publication was produced within the framework of the Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR) project “Strengthening Public Oversight,” with financial support from Norway. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the NGO “Mykolaiv Media Hub” and the online media outlet “NikVesti.” This material can in no way be considered as reflecting the views of IWPR or the Government of Norway.
