The number of rats is on the rise: residents of Mykolaiv have complained about unsanitary conditions near the unfinished building on 3rd Slobidska Street
- News of Mykolaiv
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- Julia Lukyanenko
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17:21, 01 April, 2026
Unfinished building on 3rd Slobidska Street. Photo: NikVestiLarge rats are running around the abandoned unfinished building on 3rd Slobidska Street in Mykolaiv and the residential buildings nearby. Residents fear that the rats may enter their yards and homes, so they are asking the authorities to resolve the issue.
Oksana Hrachova wrote about this in the Contact Centre group on the Mykolaiv City Council’s page.
The unfinished building is situated between 3rd Slobidska Street and Mark Kropyvnytskyi Street. Oksana Hrachova noted that there are increasing numbers of rats near the abandoned building and the residential blocks nearby.
«There are more and more of them (rats, — note), and it’s really scary. We’ve tried to tell someone about this, but no one is paying any attention,» wrote the Mykolaiv resident.
Mykolaiv residents are asking for the problem to be resolved, as the rats could spread to residential buildings, which is a public health issue.
Rats near the unfinished building on 3rd Slobidska Street. Photo by Oksana Honcharova
Rats near the unfinished building on 3rd Slobidska Street. Photo by Oksana HoncharovaThe complaint was registered under number 65451.
In a comment to NikVesti, the head of the Central District Administration, Oleksandr Bereza, noted that the issue with the unfinished building is more complex and concerns more than just rats.
The Petro Mohyla Black Sea National University has repeatedly appealed to the Mykolaiv City Council to transfer the unfinished building to the university so that a university clinic can be established there. However, the councillors refused.
According to Oleksandr Bereza, the transfer of the unfinished building was hindered by the nearby car park, even though it is undeveloped. In the opinion of the head of the Central District Administration, the owner of the unfinished building must be found so that the building can begin to serve a purpose.
«The issue is that we are trying to deal with the consequences, whereas we need to tackle the causes. And this will be a never-ending struggle. And the cause lies in this unfinished building. To remove this issue from the agenda, it would be right to find the proper owner for the property... And to turn it into a facility that would benefit the townspeople, rather than creating problems and threats,» said Oleksandr Bereza.
As for the rats, the fence, the windows and other issues with the unfinished building, at the city council session, Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych instructed officials to sort this out.
Oleksandr Bereza noted that he had spoken with councillor Dmytro Sichko (the unfinished building is located in his constituency, — note) regarding the abandoned building, and the discussion centred on contacting the Housing and Utilities Department for pest control. However, the head of the administration also added that rats appear on the site because residents dump rubbish there. The rats then scatter across the surrounding areas.
The history of the unfinished building
The unfinished building on 3rd Slobidska Street, where a clinic had long been planned, has repeatedly been the scene of criminal incidents. Oksana Makar was found on the site in 2012. In 2016, a 12-year-old boy fell from the roof of the unfinished building and died. In 2021, a woman’s body was found in the basement of the unfinished building.
Furthermore, schoolchildren often enter the site and take selfies on the roof.
In June 2016, Leonid Klymenko, rector of Petro Mohyla Black Sea National University (ChNU), approached members of the Mykolaiv City Council and expressed his willingness to build a university clinic on the site of the unfinished building on 3rd Slobidska Street.
Subsequently, Oleksii Savchenko, head of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration, approached the city authorities with a proposal to transfer the unfinished building on 3rd Slobidska Street to the Mykolaiv National University free of charge, to house a medical centre and hospital there. Rector Leonid Klymenko and students from Mykolaiv National University spoke several times at sessions of the Mykolaiv City Council, requesting that the unfinished polyclinic building on 3rd Slobidska Street be transferred to the university’s balance sheet.
The councillors did not support the transfer.
On 12 June 2020, at a session of the regional council, councillors approved the transfer of the children’s infectious diseases hospital building to the university. Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych stated that ChNU still plans to take the unfinished building on 3rd Slobidska Street onto its balance sheet.
In July 2021, deputies of the Mykolaiv City Council once again failed to pass a resolution on the transfer of the unfinished building on 3 Slobidska Street to the ownership of Mykolaiv National University. The resolution fell short by just three votes.
In August 2021, members of the standing deputy commission on housing and communal services of the Mykolaiv City Council refused to approve the draft resolution of the session regarding the inclusion of the unfinished building on 3 Slobidska Street in the list of small-scale privatisation properties for sale at auction. They also did not support the draft resolution on the free transfer of the property to ChNU for the establishment of a medical centre and hospital there.
In October 2021, the issue of the unfinished building was removed from the agenda of the City Council session.
In 2023, it was reported that documentation was being prepared in Mykolaiv for the future construction of a cluster hospital on 3rd Slobidska Street. However, the issue has remained unresolved since then.