«It is advisable to stay at home»: the Mykolaiv City Council explained that there are not enough municipal workers to combat the icy conditions
- News of Mykolaiv
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- Yuliia Boichenko
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18:30, 27 January, 2026
Black ice in Mykolaiv, 27 January 2026, photo by NikVestiThere are not enough municipal workers to combat icy roads in Mykolaiv. Currently, municipal workers are sprinkling salt and sand on the city streets, but only near public transport stops and in areas with large crowds of people.
This was reported by Vitalii Lukov, first deputy mayor of Mykolaiv, in a comment to NikVesti.
«Workers, of course, are sprinkling pedestrian areas. Priority is given to public transport stops. That is the first priority. And then to areas with the highest traffic of people. Neither parks, nor squares, nor suburbs are being sprinkled because it is physically impossible. There are not enough human resources or equipment,» said Vitalii Lukov.
The city authorities are also calling on local businesses to sprinkle salt and sand on the areas adjacent to their premises.
«We are asking businesses to spread salt and sand near their premises, because according to the rules of public amenities, the area near their premises must be spread and cleaned by the entrepreneur who is there,» added the deputy mayor.
Vitalii Lukov urged Mykolaiv residents to wait out the bad weather at home if possible.
«If we take the area of our Mykolaiv — 250 kilometres — how much salt and sand would it take to cover it all? No one knows, probably. And most importantly, the biggest problem is that sand alone does not help without salt, because the sand is immediately covered by rain and freezes again. Therefore, those who do not have an urgent need should preferably stay at home during this disaster. There are things when it is possible to do something, and there are things when it is really impossible to do anything. It is a disaster, so to speak. It is a natural disaster,» said Vitalii Lukov.
He also explained that there are currently not enough municipal workers to cover the entire city to combat the ice.
«The roads for public transport are sprinkled with salt and special reagents, but in order to cover all the pavements, we need human resources. And because of the war, we don't have them. We have hundreds of bus stops. It takes hundreds of people to sprinkle them. And that's just the bus stops. I can't even say how realistic it is to do this. There are a hundred or two or three people, or however many, at the Parks municipal enterprise. Right now, they are all out on the streets with shovels. But this has been going on for more than a day. Can people work around the clock without stopping?
We are really doing our best — everything we can, all the equipment and people are working. But if this work requires one or two shifts, then it is still possible. If this work has been going on for more than a day, then people need to rest — those who are working,» said Vitalii Lukov.
Icy roads in Mykolaiv
There has been ice on the roads in Mykolaiv for several days in a row. Weather forecasters predict that the bad weather will continue. In particular, on 28 January, light rain with wet snow is expected, and during the day — ice and heavy fog.
On 26 January, 13 people were admitted to hospital with injuries caused by icy conditions. As of 27 January, this number had risen to 60.
Employees of the municipal enterprise Mykolaiv Parks reported that they are working in an enhanced mode due to icy conditions. They used 22,700 kilograms of anti-icing mixture to treat sidewalks and pedestrian areas.