Burials in Mykolaiv may become more expensive: digging a grave could cost up to UAH 9,942

In Mykolaiv, the cost of services provided by the Mykolaiv Municipal Funeral Service is set to increase. A draft decision by the Executive Committee of the Mykolaiv City Council proposes introducing new tariffs starting November 1, 2026. However, they will take effect only if approved by the executive committee. According to mkrada.gov.ua.

The meeting at which the rates are due to be reviewed is scheduled for October 14. The current tariffs were approved by the executive committee on March 26, 2025 — about a year and a half ago. The list of services is divided into essential minimum services and additional services.

The following changes are proposed for essential minimum services:

• Preparing a service agreement for organizing and holding a funeral: 78 hryvnias instead of 57 hryvnias.
• Issuing a burial certificate: the current price is 40 hryvnias, while the proposed price is 54 hryvnias.
• Digging a grave by hand: the current range of 355–6,295 hryvnias is set to be replaced with 443–9,942 hryvnias. The exact amount depends on the soil, the size of the grave, and whether the ground is frozen.
• Digging a grave mechanically, with manual finishing: the current cost is 2,311–3,704 hryvnias; the draft proposes 3,751–6,284 hryvnias.
• Removing a grave monument to make room for an additional burial: depending on its weight, the price may rise from 292–780 hryvnias to 412–1,099 hryvnias.
• Burial or additional burial of an urn containing ashes in an existing grave: 260–1,395 hryvnias is proposed instead of 208–497 hryvnias. Rates depend on the soil and the size of the burial.
• Placing an urn containing the deceased’s ashes in a columbarium niche: this is a new service, with a proposed tariff of 378 hryvnias.

The list of additional services includes the following rates:

• Supervision of compliance with sanitary standards and regulations at the cemetery — 264–525 hryvnias, depending on the cemetery.
• Cleaning and arranging a grave — 441 hryvnias without a flower bed, or 663 hryvnias with one.
• Locating a grave and providing information — 405 hryvnias.

There are 16 cemeteries registered in the city. The Mykolaiv budget for 2026 allocates 24.3 million hryvnias for their upkeep and routine repairs.

The city’s first columbarium opened in May 2026, with 2.7 million hryvnias spent on its construction. The work was initially expected to be completed by the end of 2024, but construction was delayed due to the mobilization of workers. The deadline was later pushed back to mid-2025.

We previously reported:

• A European approach reaches cemeteries: a columbarium worth 2.7 million hryvnias opens in Mykolaiv
• No access to a grave without “permission”: the Antimonopoly Committee investigates alleged abuses by Mykolaiv’s funeral service
• Graves are being removed in Mykolaiv to make room for new burials at the cemetery
• Burying people who died of COVID-19 exclusively through the Mykolaiv Funeral Service violated the law, says the Antimonopoly Committee