Kim responded sharply to deputies who criticised the funding of the regional guard: 82 per cent of Shaheds shot down are with their help

Vitalii Kim reacts to the proposal to cut funding for the regional municipal guard. Photo: archive NikVesti

Vitalii Kim, head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, responded to the doubts of city council members about the feasibility of funding the regional municipal guard from the city budget. He reminded that the guard is involved in air defence and «90% of its work is aimed at protecting Mykolaiv».

Vitalii Kim said this on Thursday, 4 September, during a session of the Mykolaiv City Council, according to NikVesti.

During a meeting of the city council's budget committee on 2 September, deputy Andrii Yantar proposed not to approve the allocation of additional 10 million hryvnias from the budget for the regional guard, arguing that the city actually sees no benefit from its work, except for the protection of several facilities.

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«How are funds allocated to those organisations that, first of all, do not belong to the city community. I mean 10 million for the regional municipal guard. This money could be used to do a lot of useful things for the city. Moreover, I see that the city residents receive almost nothing from the municipal guard, except for the protection of the House of Naval Officers. This municipal guard costs us almost 40 million a year. This is too much for our budget. Therefore, I will propose to exclude this issue from the budget redistribution,» Andrii Yantar addressed the deputies at the session.

Vitalii Kim, head of the Mykolaiv Vigilance Unit, said he was tired of hearing deputies accuse him of spending too much, because the unit works primarily to protect Mykolaiv and is directly involved in shooting down kamikaze drones.

«I proposed additional spending on the municipal guard, and I ask the deputies not to express their opinion as their personal opinion, because the municipal guard also includes forces that shoot down Shaheds over our city. One downed Shahed means saved lives. Their budget exceeds 100 million hryvnias, and the part of the funds paid by the city is insufficient. The main burden of funding is borne by the regional budget, and the organisation works in the interests of 90% of the city of Mykolaiv. I am ready to give explanations on the work of the regional guard, what it does and what benefits it brings to the city,» he said.

Vitalii Kim warned that if the deputies continue to question the expediency of the expenditures, he will raise the issue in a completely different format — with a proposal to transfer the funding of the municipal guard entirely to the city budget.

«If I do this, I will ask that in the next budget, the costs of the guard be borne by the city rather than the region. Frankly speaking, I'm tired of hearing these accusations, even though the regional guard works for the benefit of the city, primarily to protect air defence. And to listen to this story that you think it's too much for the citizens. They work 90% for the city of Mykolaiv, even though it is a regional guard. Therefore, I want this issue not to be raised anymore, I am ready to tell you about it in due time, but I warn you that I will raise this issue in a different context at the next session if I hear such a story about our work of the regional guard,» Vitalii Kim added.

MP Andrii Yantar asked about the effectiveness of the regional municipal guard.

«82% of the downed Shaheds, of which half are shot down somewhere by the Defence Forces, but all units involve municipal guards, including in their off-hours in the case of DFTG. But they work for the defence of the city. So I will give you this data if you need it. But I'm ashamed to hear that the guard, where the guys have been working since the age of 22, is too expensive for the townspeople,» said Vitalii Kim.

During the voting, the proposal of deputy Andrii Yantar to exclude the allocation of 10 million hryvnias for the municipal guard did not receive the required number of votes: «For» — 3, «Against» — 15, «Abstained» — 10. Thus, the decision to fund the regional guard remained in the draft budget.

After the city council members discussed the feasibility of financing the «Mykolaiv Regional Guard» from the city budget, the company spoke about the key areas of its work. The company emphasised that its activities are aimed at ensuring the safety of the region's residents and protecting critical infrastructure. The company's units are involved in countering drone strikes in mobile fire groups.

In 2022, the head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, Vitalii Kim, ordered the creation of the «Regional Guard», a people's guard to protect public order in the first days of a full-scale invasion.

Already in 2023, the Mykolaiv Regional Council increased the authorised capital of the «Mykolaiv Regional Guard» to 23.2 million hryvnias, allocating these funds from the budget. And 40 million hryvnias was allocated to the utility company from the Mykolaiv budget.

At the time, Vitalii Homerskyi, a deputy from «Servant of the People», chairman of the regional council's budget committee, commenting on the decision to allocate funds from the regional budget, said that the city should take on the responsibility for financing the municipal enterprise «Mykolaiv Regional Guard» to a greater extent.