They went, talked — then sat down and cried: what did the Mykolaiv delegation actually bring back from Denmark?

In May 2026, a delegation from Mykolaiv made a working visit to its sister city Aalborg, Denmark. The trip was officially explained as participation in the project “Creation of the Office of Eurointegration in the Mykolaiv community”, implemented by the NGO “Center for Adult Learning and Education ‘Pivden’” in cooperation with the Mykolaiv Development Agency with the support of the U-LEAD with Europe programme.

The delegation included Deputy Mayor of Mykolaiv Serhii Korenev, Director of the Mykolaiv Development Agency Ihor Filippov, Head of the Office of Eurointegration Viktor Sykalenko, as well as project participants Yana Datsiuk and Oksana Petrenko.

Formally, the purpose of the visit was named as preparation for joint participation of Mykolaiv and Aalborg in European programmes Interreg, Horizon Europe and Creative Europe, as well as studying Danish experience in volunteering, adult education and civil society.

But the official statement still does not make the main point clear: what concrete results did the Mykolaiv community gain from this trip. It does not name any signed agreements, submitted project applications, amounts of future funding, implementation timelines, or those responsible for specific directions.

In fact, the statement speaks about meetings, presentations, getting acquainted with Denmark‘s experience and collecting materials for a future roadmap. At a time when a large part of international meetings can be held online, residents of Mykolaiv may reasonably ask: why did a delegation of 5 people need to travel thousands of kilometers in person if the publicly shown result so far amounts to “discussed”, “familiarized” and “formed directions”?

This looks particularly sensitive because among the trip participants was Serhii Korenev — an official who for many years has been involved in a high-profile corruption scandal surrounding the reconstruction of Soborna Square in Mykolaiv.

Against this background, the current trip to Denmark looks not just like another international business trip, but as a politically and reputationally sensitive story. After all, a person with such a background again represents Mykolaiv in communication with European partners when it comes to trust, transparency, future projects and potential funding.

It raises further questions that this is not the first story with foreign trips by Serhii Korenev that caused public resonance. In 2023, the deputy mayor of Mykolaiv went on a two-week business trip to Romania “to establish contacts regarding cooperation on the city’s recovery”, and the trip was organized by a confectionery from Brașov, according to reports.

Therefore, the key question is not whether Mykolaiv needs cooperation with Denmark. It does. Especially during the war, when the city requires international support, investment, expertise and participation in EU programmes. The question is different: why does the community again have to learn only general phrases about “exchange of experience” and a “roadmap”, but not see a clear answer — how much the trip cost, who paid for it, what documents were signed, which applications are already being prepared and who will be responsible for the results.

At Aalborg municipality, the Mykolaiv delegation met with representatives of the Mayor’s Office and the Department of Finance and Business, in particular with special adviser Mette Gregersen and senior adviser Kristina Folmand Knudsen. They discussed opportunities for joint participation in EU programmes, and the Mykolaiv delegation presented the community’s strategic priorities and needs.

Deputy Mayor of Mykolaiv Serhii Korenev thanked the international partners and the mayor of Aalborg, Lasse Friman Jensen, for the reception.

“I sincerely thank our international partners for their support of Mykolaiv and their willingness to work together on the recovery of our city. I would like to express special gratitude to the mayor of Aalborg, Lasse Friman Jensen, for an extremely warm meeting and friendly reception. This visit once again proved that the solidarity of our Danish friends is not merely declarative, but manifests itself in concrete assistance and a sincere desire to develop our partnership,” said Deputy Mayor of Mykolaiv Serhii Korenev.

According to official information, directions for further cooperation between Mykolaiv and Aalborg were formed as a result of the visit. The delegation also collected practical material for developing a roadmap for eurointegration interaction, which should become the basis for preparing joint project applications for EU programmes.

The visit programme also included familiarization with models of civil society and adult education. At the Aalborg Volunteer Centre, director Nini Jolander and her deputy Katja Jørgensen spoke about mechanisms for supporting social work, in particular about Paragraph 18 of Denmark‘s Social Services Act, which provides for municipal funding of voluntary social work.

In addition, the delegation learned about the activities of the national network FriSe, which unites more than 80 local volunteer centres across Denmark.

At the HF&VUC NORD centre, Mykolaiv representatives studied the Danish model of lifelong adult learning. Director Lene Juding spoke about the centre’s role in the community’s social cohesion, and the Mykolaiv delegation talked with Ukrainian students studying there.

The delegation also visited the Aalborg Sports Folk School, where director Erik Sidenius demonstrated how the Danish tradition of folkehøjskole — informal adult education focused on personal development, active citizenship and democratic participation — works.

Head of the Office of Eurointegration Viktor Sykalenko stated that the gathered experience will be integrated into the office’s work.

“The visit to Aalborg became the third task of the ‘Office of Eurointegration’ project, aimed at coordinating joint participation in European programmes. The gathered experience will be integrated into the work of the Office of Eurointegration, which coordinates the interaction of representatives of the executive bodies of Mykolaiv City Council, public and youth organizations, and educational institutions to form international partnerships and prepare project applications for European Union programmes,” said the head of the Office of Eurointegration, Viktor Sykalenko.

Cooperation with Aalborg itself and the U-LEAD with Europe programme can be useful for Mykolaiv. But after such trips, the city authorities must respond not with general phrases but with specifics: which applications are being prepared, for what amounts, in what timeframes, who is responsible and how the community will be able to monitor the results.

Because in conditions of war, a shortage of budget funds and high-profile corruption cases surrounding city officials, any international trip must be maximally transparent. Especially when a city official whose name for many years has been associated with a case of possible embezzlement of tens of millions of hryvnias on the city’s main square again represents Mykolaiv abroad.