One of the worst indicators among cities: availability and conditions in shelters were checked in Mykolaiv

One of the proven shelters in Mykolaiv. Photo by the Center for Civil Liberties

Only 13% of shelters in Mykolaiv are available for people with pets. The overall shelter affordability score is 2.6, one of the lowest among the cities tested.

This is stated in the report from the third National Shelter Monitoring Campaign conducted by the Ozone Monitoring Group of the Center for Civil Liberties and UAnimals.

From July to September 2024, the monitoring group checked shelters in the following cities: Kyiv, Cherkasy, Odesa, Chernihiv, Mykolaiv, Lutsk, Vinnytsia and Zaporizhzhia, Rozdilne, Shostka. In total, 484 shelters were checked in 10 cities of Ukraine.

Volunteers checked the availability and basic quality of shelters. In addition to the general evaluation criteria, the focus added an assessment of accessibility for pets, as required by law. After all, at the end of 2023, appropriate changes were made to the legislation, which regulated the access and placement of people with pets in shelters.

23 shelters were checked in Mykolaiv. It is noted that only 17% of them are provided with places to sit, and only 4% are equipped with a supply of drinking water. It also indicates that only 13% of shelters allow shelter for people with pets.

The results of the inspection of shelters in Mykolaiv. Data from the Center for Civil Liberties

The results of the inspection of shelters in Mykolaiv. Data from the Center for Civil Liberties

«None of the shelters is equipped with a ramp or a gentle descent, which makes them inaccessible to people with reduced mobility. Despite the fact that the percentage of open shelters in the city improved by 28%, reaching 35%, the number and quality of these protective structures remains a challenge for Mykolaiv. The overall assessment of the availability of shelters in Mykolaiv according to the monitoring results is only 2.6, which is one of the lowest indicators among the checked cities,» the report says.

The national shelter monitoring campaign is carried out by the OZON monitoring group of the Center for Civil Liberties. During it, OZON is based on the normative and legal framework related to protective structures of civil protection. In particular, the main documents are the order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine №579 «On the approval of requirements for the use and accounting of the fund of civil defense protective structures», as well as the actual «Requirements for the maintenance and operation of civil defense protective structures», approved by this order. Based on these documents, OZON checks the availability and basic quality of shelters.

In May of this year, it was reported that only 7% of shelters in Mykolaiv are open. In addition, there is a problem with the availability of shelters — there is no ramp or a gentle descent.

We will also remind you that in the Mykolaiv region, about 50% of the required number of shelters is accounted for in accordance with the population.