Since February 2022, Mykolaiv lost up to 90% of its businesses, mayor says
Consequences of the shelling of Mykolaiv (photo - Oleksandr Sienkevych)

During the full-scale Russian invasion, Mykolaiv lost approximately 90% of its businesses. There is almost no production, enterprises have closed or relocated, stated Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych, reports Interfax-Ukraine.

"Today, the city survives exclusively due to the military income tax (PDFO). But after the end of the war, a situation may arise that we will stop receiving this PDFO as well, and there will be no new funds from our taxpayers," Sienkevych said on the sidelines of a meeting of the high level "Covenant of Mayors in Ukraine: planning sustainable development together" in Lviv on May 10.

Reference. The Covenant of Mayors is the world's largest climate and energy movement, which began in the European Union in 2008. Currently, the initiative unites 11,000 local and regional authorities in 55 countries of the world.

To date, almost 300 Ukrainian communities have joined this climate movement and developed 180 action plans aimed at solving energy and climate problems. Signing the agreement, mayors in Ukraine undertook to reduce CO2 emissions by more than 25 million tons per year.

In order to avoid the decline of the territories most affected by the war, it is necessary to create special economic zones to stimulate investments, the mayor of Mykolaiv believes.

In addition, it is already necessary to work on training the workforce for future production facilities. People will also return to Mykolaiv if they see an opportunity to earn, restore their housing and standard of living, he noted.

So far, the mayor of Mykolaiv does not feel any support for such an initiative from the government.

"But, I hope, it will come in the near future," Sienkevych suggested.

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