Residents of Lviv will be able to take the initiative to have the shelters in their buildings repaired: the city will cover up to 90 per cent of the cost

Residents of high-rise blocks in Lviv will be able to initiate the refurbishment of their basements themselves, so that they can be used as basic shelters. To this end, the city has launched a co-funding scheme: residents are to pay between 10 per cent and 30 per cent of the cost of the work, with the remainder covered by the city budget.

The relevant programme was approved by Lviv City Council councillors at a session on 25 August, according to NikVesti.

To take part, residents must first agree on the renovation at a general meeting of the building’s residents, and then submit an application to the city council. After that, a special commission will inspect the basement and determine whether it is possible to fit out a basic shelter there.

The minimum contribution from residents will be 10 per cent of the cost of the renovation. At the same time, buildings whose residents are prepared to fund the majority of the work will be given priority during the selection process.

There are other conditions too. There must be no other operational shelter or protective structure within a 300-metre radius of the building. Priority will also be given to basements capable of accommodating more people at the same time. The floor area will be calculated at a minimum of 0.6 square metres per person.

The programme covers not only the basements of block-of-flats but also non-residential premises owned by the local authority that can be adapted to shelter people during air raid alerts.

By the end of 2026, the plan is to allocate 18 million hryvnias from the city budget to the programme. In 2027, a further 26 million hryvnias will be allocated, and in 2028, 31 million hryvnias. In total, this amounts to 75 million hryvnias over three years.

Consequently, the city will not automatically renovate all basements: the initiative must come from the residents themselves, who are prepared to contribute towards the cost of the work and submit their building for inclusion in the programme.

Read also: «Why do Mykolaiv residents not use shelters? A survey by NikVesti».

What is the situation with shelters in Mykolaiv?

Mykolaiv is short of more than two thousand shelters, and this problem is most acute in the Lisky, Namyv and Pivnichnyi neighbourhoods. It is there that the city authorities plan to install mobile shelters, as there are virtually no permanent shelters in these areas. At the same time, Mykolaiv is counting on state support to develop its network of shelters.

During shelling, Mykolaiv residents cannot access departmental shelters outside working hours. Residents of the city contacted the editorial office of NikVesti, reporting that during an air-raid alert they were unable to reach the shelter at 173 Tsentralnyi Avenue. All other nearby shelters also belong to organisations or businesses managed by municipal or private bodies, and only admit people during working hours. Mykolaiv City Council has promised to raise the issue of shelter accessibility for discussion at a meeting of the executive committee.

Only 7 per cent of Mykolaiv’s shelters are open. At the same time, there is a problem with the accessibility of shelters – there are no ramps or gentle slopes. In April 2024, residents of Mykolaiv were unable to access the shelter on the grounds of the «Kazka» children’s town during an air-raid alert because it was closed. The children’s centre’s management conducted an internal investigation into this incident.

This is not the first time shelters in Mykolaiv have been found to be locked during an air raid alert. Shelters in the Matviivka neighbourhood, in the city’s Central District and in «Yunist» Park were also found to be locked during the attacks on Mykolaiv on 17 March. Following these incidents, Mykolaiv’s mayor, Oleksandr Sienkevych, urged residents to call the police if a shelter or bomb shelter was found to be locked during an air-raid alert.

Overall, Mykolaiv found itself on the list of regions with the poorest condition of shelters. Following an inspection of the condition of shelters across Ukraine, the National Security and Defence Council deemed the preparedness of shelters for use in a number of regions and cities to be unsatisfactory, in particular in Mykolaiv.