They couldn't find 17 million hryvnias to rebuild the entrance destroyed by a gas explosion in Mykolaiv

In Mykolaiv the issue of new housing for the residents of the emergency entrance of the building on 4 Pozdovzhna Street, 87, where a domestic gas explosion occurred on May 23, 2025, still has not been resolved. People need about UAH 17 million to purchase apartments, but the city budget currently does not have these funds. Due to a lack of funding the decision has been postponed again.

The situation was discussed during the Mykolaiv City Council staff meeting on September 7, 2026. The information about the absence of the necessary funding was confirmed by the first deputy mayor Vitalii Lukov. Similar data from the meeting is cited by “Преступности.НЕТ”: it concerns roughly UAH 17 million for the purchase of housing.

First deputy mayor Vitalii Lukov suggested postponing the matter for now, since the required sum is not in the budget.

“Please postpone it for now (this issue, — note), because those 17 million, for now it is still 17. We still do not have them to purchase these apartments. Therefore this issue apparently passes to the authority of another deputy,” — said Vitalii Lukov.

After changes in the distribution of powers in the city council, the issue is to be transferred under the control of deputy mayor Serhii Koreniev, to whose responsibilities asset management will belong. The mayor acknowledged that a quick solution to the residents’ housing problem should not be expected.

Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych proposed to hand control to Serhii Koreniev and return to the issue in a month.

“Please, then we will replace Lukov with Koreniev here. Since asset management will be with him. And then this issue concerns money. I understand that we will not be able to resolve it easily in the near future. Noted, we postpone it for a month, we will hear it,” — said Oleksandr Senkevych.

What happened to the building?

An explosion in a five-story building in the Inhulskyi district of Mykolaiv occurred at about 04:00 on May 23, 2025. The epicenter was in an apartment on the 1st floor. According to rescuers, the preliminary cause was household gas. Internal partitions in the apartment were destroyed, and windows and balconies on the upper floors were damaged. A woman born in 1966 was injured and taken to hospital in serious condition with burns. She later died. Rescuers evacuated 25 residents from the building, and 11 people sought psychological help afterwards.

The greatest damage was sustained by the 1st entrance. It was later declared unsafe and it was decided to dismantle it. In 2025 about UAH 4.4–4.5 million was allocated for the dismantling. The housing problem for people whose apartments were effectively lost along with the emergency entrance remained. Now the city estimates the need for funds to purchase apartments at approximately UAH 17 million, but a specific source of funding has not yet been identified.

At the same time, the building at 4 Pozdovzhna Street, 87 continues to appear in city administration decisions related to the consequences of the accident. In particular, in February 2026 adjustments were made to heating charges for this and other damaged buildings in Mykolaiv.

More than 1 year and 3 months have passed since the tragedy, the emergency entrance was decided to be dismantled, but the key question for its residents — where they will live next — still runs up against the lack of money in the city budget. For now the authorities have postponed it for at least another month.

Previously we wrote:

• Around 15 buildings in the Korabelnyi district are being inspected after the attack
• In Mykolaiv, over 5,300 war-damaged sites were inspected
• In Mykolaiv, 136 damaged sites were inspected in a month
• There are buildings, but no money for utility networks: Mykolaiv may lose housing for displaced people in the Korabelnyi district
• “eVidnovlennia” in the Korabelnyi district: 1,335 compensation claims after Russian attacks have already been processed