Kindergartens on pause, salaries uncertain: Kim says educators are not to blame for the war

During the session of the Mykolaiv City Council on April 30, 2026, the painful issue for parents and preschool education workers was again discussed: the possible liquidation of three kindergartens in Mykolaiv, two of which are located in the Korabelnyi district.

A member of the Mykolaiv City Council and head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration Vitaliy Kim stated that even given the difficult situation with the city budget, kindergarten staff during a period of enforced downtime must continue to receive payments. This concerns the staffs of institutions that cannot operate not through their own fault, but due to the consequences of Russian aggression and the impossibility of arranging shelters.

“In many places people receive two-thirds of their salary. Although I am a proponent of saving and believe that everything should be directed to defense, in this matter payments must be made. Because in the ports people receive compensation for downtime, and at shipbuilding plants. These expenses are money that goes to citizens during enforced downtime. It is necessary to economize if there is a clear strategy that children can go to another kindergarten,” – emphasized Vitaliy Kim, commenting on the discussion about reducing the network of preschool institutions.

At the same time Vitaliy Kim warned that both the mayor and the council must prepare for a very difficult financial year. According to him, the authorities need to start thinking now about reserves and giving up expenditures that are not primary.

“A situation is possible in which all resources will have to be directed to critical needs,” – he specifically stressed Vitaliy Kim

This concerns three preschool institutions, the liquidation of which was initiated by the Mykolaiv Department of Education of Mykolaiv. Among them — kindergarten No.104 on Torgova Street in the Korabelnyi district, kindergarten No.138 on Oleh Kravets Street in Balabanivka, and kindergarten No.128 at the intersection of Mariupolska Street and Pavlo Skoropadskyi Street.

The official reason cited is the absence of shelters and the impossibility of arranging them. If deputies support the relevant decisions, these institutions as legal entities will cease to exist, and the total number of kindergartens in Mykolaiv will decrease. During the relevant commission, the chair of the education commission Hanna Nord explained that this concerns the liquidation of the institutions as legal entities, not the loss of the buildings. The premises are to remain city property, and their further use will be determined by the municipal property department and the city council.

Council member Olena Kiselova supported the idea of liquidation, stating that it is economically unprofitable for the city to maintain these institutions. In her view, the problem is broader than just the lack of shelters: during the war the kindergartens are idle, but the buildings and staff still require funding.

Council member Artem Ilyuk said he could support the legal cessation of operations of the three kindergartens, but would not support the subsequent privatization of these buildings.

Former deputy mayor of Mykolaiv Tamila Bugayenko warned that such a decision could create a shortage of kindergarten places after the end of the war. Council member Tetyana Dombrovska also opposed the liquidation.

Council member Hanna Remennikova believes that if some premises are privatized in the future, the proceeds should be directed to upgrading the kindergartens that continue to operate.

During the session the mayor Oleksandr Senkevych noted that at present the question of privatizing kindergartens No.104, No.128 and No.138 is not on the table. According to him, deputies should make a decision only regarding the liquidation of the legal entities, while the buildings themselves should be mothballed.

Previously we wrote:

• Senkevych did not give Fedorova and Kurkurina the floor during the liquidation of three kindergartens
• Children have nowhere to go: kindergartens in Korabelnyi are being closed due to lack of shelters
• Minus three kindergartens: the city plans to close preschool institutions, two of them in Korabelnyi
• Not all kindergartens in Mykolaiv will operate in the summer
• Kindergarten teachers on the brink: without the council’s decision supplementary payments may not be made