1,300 Mykolaiv cultural workers at risk: where can the city find 26 million for salaries and utilities?

By the end of 2026, Mykolaiv’s cultural sector will be short approximately UAH 26 million needed for salaries and utility bills. Mykolaiv’s head of the Department of Culture, Yurii Liubarov, gave this estimate.

The possibility of additional funding for the sector is linked to a reallocation of the city budget. A corresponding proposal is expected to be put to deputies of the Mykolaiv City Council at the end of October.

At the same time, the city as a whole is also short of funds. At the beginning of October, the City Council appealed to the Verkhovna Rada and the Cabinet of Ministers for the third time over the budget deficit. In its appeal, the council requested an additional grant of UAH 819.1 million through the end of 2026.

“I hope that, out of the UAH 800 million the city is currently short of, we will be able to find UAH 26 million to pay the salaries of cultural workers,” said Yurii Liubarov.

According to the official, approximately 1,300 people currently work in the city’s cultural sector. Another approximately 1,300 employees work at institutions under regional authority. The city’s sector includes:

• 37 library branches;
• 9 palaces and community centers;
• 10 arts schools;
• Mykolaiv Zoo.

The average salary at municipal cultural institutions is UAH 10,518 before taxes and UAH 8,204 after deductions. Liubarov also drew attention to the low figures in salary scales and the top-ups needed to bring pay up to the minimum wage.

“Almost all salaries are below the minimum wage. The salary scales for almost all institution directors and deputy directors are below the minimum wage. So everyone whose salary is at that level receives an additional payment to bring it up to the minimum,” explained Yurii Liubarov.

Back in December, City Council deputies appealed to the government and parliament, calling for higher pay in the cultural sector. They pointed out that, despite the minimum wage being UAH 8,000 in 2025, the base salaries of many sector employees remained lower.

The government subsequently raised the base salary for cultural workers to UAH 3,470. The city authorities said they would look for funds in the budget to pay allowances.

The next salary increase is scheduled for January 1, 2027. The Ministry of Culture of Ukraine announced a new Cabinet of Ministers resolution in July 2026. However, the document places responsibility for finding the funds to raise salaries on local budgets: to do so, local authorities must review the network of institutions and the number of employees.

“Even today, Mykolaiv cannot fund the sector at its current level. And I have a feeling that the overall budget of Mykolaiv won’t grow significantly next year either. Nothing is happening right now that would make us optimistic about the budget increasing. But salaries need to go up, because cultural workers’ pay hasn’t increased for many years. During the years I’ve worked as head of the department, the minister has visited Mykolaiv at least twice. I was personally present. We raised all the issues and said this needed to be done. But it’s not just a matter for the Ministry of Culture; it also involves the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economy, and others. Even before the full-scale war, when the city and the country weren’t facing this kind of financial situation, the issue wasn’t resolved. Now, when the situation is at its most difficult compared with previous years, salaries are being increased, and we support that. But we’re preparing letters to Kyiv asking the state to cover the difference. Although we understand that the state won’t suddenly have extra money fall from the sky either,” said Yurii Liubarov.

Mykolaiv Zoo faces a separate financial problem: it owes around UAH 2 million for animal feed and utility services. The debts arose because of payment delays by the Treasury. These delays are linked to a government decision to postpone funding for non-critical construction, repairs, and improvement works.

The government made this decision because of the difficult budget situation, in order to direct funds toward defense and essential social spending. The following have been designated as priorities:

• defense spending;
• pensions and social benefits;
• salaries for public-sector employees.

Funding for lower-priority projects is instead to be postponed. Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi also called on local authorities to review their budget priorities and limit spending on such projects.

The government has announced austerity measures for funds not allocated to defense needs. At the same time, social obligations, including the payment of pensions and salaries, must be met.

We previously reported:

• The buck stops here: Mykolaiv runs out of money — Sienkevych raises the possibility of unpaid leave
• Pay rises through cuts: local authorities must find funding for culture through optimization — Liubarov
• Cultural workers’ salaries to rise by up to 70%: who will be affected by the new rules from 2027
• “There will be no money for salaries from September 1”: Topchyi warns of situation at cultural institutions
• Mykolaiv is short over UAH 50 million for salaries in culture and education: jobs and library branches at risk