Parents are asking for a shelter to be set up for the «Children’s Creative Academy» in Mykolaiv: the city council has begun looking into the matter
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- Julia LukyanenkoReporter
Shelter at the school. Illustrative photo from the NikVesti archiveThere is no shelter at the «Academy of Children’s Creativity» lyceum in Mykolaiv. The parents’ committee has appealed to members of the Mykolaiv City Council to help set up a shelter in premises they have found nearby. However, as Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych and the councillors stated, they have only just begun to look into the matter and it may turn out that the basement is unsuitable for use as a shelter. Therefore, it is not worth making grandiose claims that it has been «purchased».
This was discussed at a session of the Mykolaiv City Council today, 30 July, according to NikVesti.
The premises in question are on Parkova Street and are being considered as a potential, straightforward shelter. A working group will investigate whether the premises are suitable for this purpose, and its findings will be of an advisory nature.
Olena Melnyk, a representative of the parents’ committee, raised the issue of the shelter with the councillors. According to her, a shelter is needed by 1 September, as the shelter at «Zoria» is 300 metres away, whereas the premises at 40/1 Parkova Street, where a potential shelter has been identified, are just 60 metres away.
«There is a war going on in Ukraine and air raid alerts have become part of our lives. And every mother, when seeing her child off to school, wants to be sure that in the event of danger, the child will be protected. We are not asking for special treatment; we are simply asking for a level playing field for our children. They have just as much right to a safe education as all the other schoolchildren in our city,» said Olena Melnyk.
A session of the Mykolaiv City Council. Screenshot from the broadcastFollowing the speech, Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych said that this issue was not on the agenda, but it became clear why the parents had decided to speak at the session.
«Some so-called «activists» in the city have started accusing me of deciding to buy something or something else. It turned out that this issue was discussed at one of the committees, and now suddenly we’re all thieves here,» said the mayor.
According to him, there is no shelter at the Children’s Creative Arts Academy. A design has been drawn up for its construction, but no funds were allocated for it in the budget. The matter is being looked into so that a decision can then be made on where to source the funding.
«At present, there is no shelter on the grounds of the Children’s Creative Arts Academy. We planned to build a shelter at this facility and drew up a design, but there is currently no funding for the project; in other words, there is no money at all. The reason is that there is also no money to purchase this property, which the school found next to its premises and brought to the attention of the city council members,» said the mayor.
Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych. Screenshot from the session broadcastOlena Kiseliova, a councillor from the ‘European Solidarity’ party, also noted that parents had found options to purchase premises for a shelter, as the design and construction process is taking a long time. Meanwhile, the children need to continue their education. No one has purchased any buildings yet, but this has sparked debate among local activists and accusations levelled at the local authorities.
«Upon examination, the issue was, in principle, rational and reasonable, and you were quite right: no one has purchased anything yet, no funds have been allocated, and it hasn’t even been considered or discussed. The only thing that happened was that a formal instruction was issued to respond to the request. A working group was then set up to look into the matter, and that was all. But then some «activists» and «very righteous people» turned up, took photos and filmed videos. They stirred everyone up. There was no money, there was no decision. But now it’s not just that nothing was bought — it’s as if it had already been «stolen and divided up»,» said Olena Kiseliova.
Councillor Olena Kiselova. Screenshot from the session broadcastThe councillor was likely referring to a social media post by Svitlana Fedorova, a former member of the Mykolaiv Regional Council. She claimed that, despite years of war, no shelter had been set up for the educational institution. Instead, they are now proposing to purchase a basement in an old building, which is unsuitable as a shelter.
Councillor Svitlana Fedorova’s post about shelters. Screenshot
Post by councillor Svitlana Fedorova on shelters. Screenshot
Post by councillor Svitlana Fedorova on shelters. ScreenshotOlena Kiseliova pointed out that there are questions for the law enforcement agencies as to whether it is permissible to film such establishments, as shown in the video, during martial law.
«And in general, how can councillors defend themselves against lies and the spread, shall we say, of false rumours in society, because I believe this poses a danger to people, and such nonsense leads to undesirable consequences and unwanted problems,» said the councillor.
She emphasised that councillors are already looking into the issue of shelter, so there is no need for parents to make an appeal. Instead, the activists are creating artificial obstacles.
«But there are artificial obstacles created by activists who are doing everything but don’t understand what they’re doing,» commented Olena Kiseliova.
Andrii Yantar, a councillor from the «Propozytsiia» party, said that the lyceum is located in his constituency, so he is familiar with the issue. In his view, a temporary shelter needs to be set up, but not in the proposed premises.
«I fully support the view that children and their safety come before everything else. But as for the proposed so-called shelter, in my opinion, it does not meet the criteria for a shelter. It is a semi-basement with windows facing the building’s ground floor. It has only one entrance. I therefore believe this poses a very serious risk; it would be better to use that money to purchase and install some form of temporary shelter. I think this would be safer for the children, first and foremost,» remarked the councillor.
A session of the Mykolaiv City Council. Screenshot from the broadcastHowever, the mayor pointed out that the issue of funding arises once again.
«Are there any figures?» asked the mayor.
«No figures have been provided to us. But safety comes before everything else. And we can find the funds in the budget. We have expenditure that can wait,» replied the councillor.
Oleksandr Sienkevych summarised that the procedure is bureaucratic: the site needs to be surveyed, it must be determined whether it can be used as a shelter, expert assessments and a cost evaluation must be carried out, and only then can the matter be brought before the councillors’ committees for possible acquisition.
«So, to say today that it would be better to use this money to purchase modular shelters or some other kind of shelter — we don’t know how much that would cost. And, in any case, whether we’ll even get to that stage. And thirdly, yes, in fact, we currently have no funds earmarked for this. So that’s a separate issue,» said the mayor.
Councillor Olena Kiseliova pointed out that the working group’s investigation might conclude that the proposed premises are unsuitable for use as a shelter. Therefore, there is no need to accuse the authorities in advance of having already purchased them.
«So join the working group, find out how much it costs, and say: Don’t buy it, sign your name, explain this to the parents, and take on the work and responsibility yourselves, rather than jumping to conclusions without due consideration,» said the councillor.
Fedir Panchenko, chair of the Budget Committee, also added that not all councillors are fully informed about the issue and that it should not be discussed on the basis of rumours or social media posts.
«I hope that when we actually discuss this issue, it will be discussed in a comprehensive manner, rather than as rumours or TikTok videos,» said the councillor.
The mayor concluded by saying that anyone interested could join the working group.
Shelters in educational establishments
As a reminder, the Capital Construction Department has signed a contract with a contractor to complete the refurbishment of the basement at Lyceum №38 named after Volodymyr Chaika, with a view to fitting out a shelter there. The Capital Construction Department has already announced two tenders for the work at the lyceum, valued at 11.6 million hryvnias. However, both attempts were unsuccessful. The company «Mayster Bud-Montazh», which had already carried out part of the work on the site and which, according to law enforcement agencies, may have inflated the scope and cost of the work, also submitted a bid.
Construction of a new shelter on the grounds of Lyceum №61 is also underway in Mykolaiv. It is scheduled for completion by the end of 2026, Oleksii Savchuk, head of the City Council’s Capital Construction Department, told NikVesti. Some of the earthworks and concrete work have already been completed at the site.
Gymnasium №16 in Ternivka is facing a problem with its shelter. The basement houses old boilers that have not yet been dismantled, and there is no funding available to fit out the shelter.
