Chief anti-corruption officer of Mykolaiv City Hall reports on «land fixers» in the city council and calls on prosecutors to challenge construction of green zone for petrol station

The head of Mykolaiv's anti-corruption department, Andrii Yermolaiev, said that the city council's decision to lease a land plot in the green zone near the «Zoria»-«Mashproekt» plant at the intersection of Bohoiavlenskyi Avenue and Kobera Street, where a petrol station is to be built, is illegal and should be cancelled.

The official, who is also a member of the city council from the party «Propozytsiia», wrote about this on his Facebook page, attaching the comments of the legal department to this decision, NikVesti.

Chief anti-corruption officer of Mykolaiv City Hall Andriy Yermolaiev called the decision on the land for a petrol station on Kobera Street illegal, screenshot from Facebook

«This is not a secret document, but a letter from the legal department regarding the draft decision on this park. These materials were sent to all the deputies before the session, and I don't know how many of them read them. It shows that this decision is illegal, but can this stop «land fixers»? In fact, this document is a ready-made lawsuit. And I hope that the district prosecutor's office will file a lawsuit in favour of the state to cancel this illegal decision... I am not tarring all deputies with the same brush, but I will ask a logical question to those whom I respect why you vote for such issues. I hope that the next convocation of the deputy corps, together with the prosecutor's office, will cancel illegal land decisions like this one, adopted by the current convocation of deputies», wrote Andrii Yermolaiev.

He also reminded that city council members take an oath to act for the benefit of voters. He also spoke about the patriotism of the deputies and mentioned deputy Artem Illiuk, who got a tattoo with the Mykolaiv coat of arms. Andrii Yermolaev also spoke about the online work of the city council over the past three years and the batch voting on problematic land issues.

During the full-scale war, deputy Artem Iliuk got a tattoo of the Mykolaiv coat of arms on his back, a screenshot from the politician's Instagram

«Now about the city council members. Everyone who becomes a deputy takes an oath to act in favour of the voters. But only four of the male deputies of the Mykolaiv City Council went to defend their constituents in the Ukrainian Security and Defence Forces. For one leader of the conscription age faction, his love for Mykolaiv ended with a tattoo of the Mykolaiv coat of arms on his back. I think Mykolaiv is the only regional centre where sessions are still held online. The reason for this is simple: the deputies simply won't gather, there will be no quorum. But it's so convenient to gather online from safe places to quickly vote as a package for legally problematic land decisions», wrote Andrii Yermolaev.

Chief anti-corruption officer of Mykolaiv Andrii Yermolaev said that the city council's decision to build a petrol station in the oaks on Kobera Street was illegal, archive photo of the press service of the Mykolaiv City Council

As a reminder, in October 2024, Andrii Yermolaev said that the chief architect of Mykolaiv, Yevhen Poliakov, had «slyly slipped» the kiosk permit to deputies in a package with other land issues that concerned the refusal to allow entrepreneurs to place kiosks.

The document, written by Andrii Yermolaiev, was attached to the agenda of the city council session, which on 25 April 2024, in a package with 29 other decisions, voted to lease a 7643 m² land plot «to Svit Zdorovia for the construction of a sports and recreation centre» for 5 years. By the same decision, the deputies gave permission to develop a land management project to change the designated purpose of the land for the placement of road service facilities. The mayor's lawyers note that since 2021, the mayor's office has been trying to oblige the company to vacate the land plot illegally occupied since 2015, and with this decision, the city council has effectively made it impossible to further protect the interests of the territorial community of Mykolaiv in court, as it will lead to the closure of the case due to the absence of a subject matter of the claim.

Comments of the Legal Department of Mykolaiv City Hall on the Draft Decision on the Transfer of Land to Svit Zdorovia LLC

Comments of the Legal Department of Mykolaiv City Hall on the draft decision on the transfer of land to Svit Zdorovia LLC

Comments of the Legal Department of Mykolaiv City Hall on the Draft Decision on the Transfer of Land to «Svit Zdorovia» LLC

Remarks of the Legal Department of Mykolaiv City Hall to the draft decision on the transfer of land to Svit Zdorovia LLC

The lawyers of the city council also point out that the company has registered its ownership of the real estate with a 5% readiness on this plot, although the Land Code stipulates that this is possible only following the results of an auction, which did not take place.

«According to part two of Article 331 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, ownership of newly created real estate (residential buildings, structures, etc.) arises from the moment of completion of construction (creation of property). If ownership of immovable property is subject to state registration in accordance with the law, ownership arises from the moment of state registration. Until the completion of construction (creation of property), a person is considered the owner of materials, equipment, etc. that were used in the process of this construction (creation of property)», said in a letter from the legal department.

The City Hall lawyers concluded that the non-competitive lease of the land plot for the construction of a sports and recreation centre on Bohoiavlenskyi Avenue, corner of Kobera Street, where the construction in progress is located, to «WORLD OF HEALTH», as proposed in paragraph 1 of the draft decision, does not comply with the requirements of Article 134 of the Land Code of Ukraine.

How the city council gave the land for the construction of a petrol station instead of the court

An oak grove at the intersection of Bohoiavlenskyi Avenue and Kobera Lane, where a petrol station is to be built, photo by NikVesti

Back in 2005, the Mykolaiv City Council leased this plot to the company «Svit Zdorovia» for the construction of a sports and recreation centre.

The story around the construction on Kobera Street began in 2014. At that time, the company Svit Zdorovia received a plot of land near «Zoria»-«Mashproekt» to build a sports and recreation centre. Some of the trees on the territory were cut down back then.

In March 2014, the then acting mayor, Yurii Hranaturov, publicly acknowledged during a meeting of the city executive committee that the situation raised many questions and stated that construction was suspended until the feasibility of the project was clarified. Nevertheless, according to local residents, work continued, mostly at night.

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In January 2015, the conflict escalated. Residents of houses located on Kobera Street and employees of the plant «Zoria»-«Mashproekt», came out to protest. They claimed that a petrol station was being built on the site of the complex, despite the fact that according to the documents, it was supposed to be a health centre. According to them, construction continued at night despite a ban from the city council. They complained about the cutting down of about 100 trees in the park area, trenches in their yards and the disruption of the ecological balance in the industrial area.

On 28 January 2015, the Mykolaiv City Council refused to extend the lease agreement for the land plot, which was about to expire, to Svitlo Zdorovia.

However, in 2014, Svitlo Zdorovia managed to register ownership of the property, namely an unfinished building for «sports and recreation centre» (5% of completion), which was erected after the trees were cut down.

In order to cancel the state registration of the unfinished building and return the land to the city, Mykolaiv City Council filed a lawsuit in May 2021. «The World of Health», in turn, filed a counterclaim, demanding to renew the land lease agreement.

Between 2021 and 2024, Mykolaiv City Council and «Svit Zdorovia» LLC sued for the land. The former demanded to cancel the state registration of the unfinished construction and vacate the plot, which the latter failed to return to the city in 2015. In turn, the company argued that it had been paying rent to the city council for all these years, despite the absence of a land lease agreement, and therefore demanded that the lease agreement be renewed. Svit Zdorovia lost the case to renew the agreement in 2023. All this time, at the suit of the Mykolaiv City Council, the company's property on the disputed land plot was seized, and a ban on construction was imposed.

While the lawsuits were pending, in 2023, the Mykolaiv Department of Architecture ordered the development of a detailed plan for the territory, which included this green zone, and envisaged the location of a petrol station there. It was approved by the city council in February 2024.

Scheme of the approved detailed plan of the territory, where the green zone has been significantly reduced, and a petrol station is now planned to be built in place of the oaks (marked with the number 1), screenshot from the Detailed Plan of the Territory

Previously, the territory where the petrol station is to be built belonged to the green zone, a map of existing restrictions at the time of the development of the detailed territory plan in 2023, screenshot by NikVesti

Then the court was supposed to resume consideration of the city council's claim, but the latter missed the deadline for eliminating the deficiencies of the claim, which is why in March 2025 Svitlo Zdorovia the court cancelled all previously imposed restrictions on construction.

So, having lost the court case to renew the land lease agreement, in March 2024, Svitlo Zdorovia applied to the city council to transfer the unfinished land plot «to them for 5 years for the construction of a sports and recreation centre and maintenance of administrative buildings». On 23 April, the specialised land commission of the city council approved this issue, and on 25 April, the city council

On 25 April, two days after the commission's meeting, city council membersapproved a permit for Svitlo Zdorovia to develop a land management project for the site. This decision was made in a package with other land issues.

Two months later, in June 2024, the company asked the city authorities to change the designated purpose of the land plot to place and operate road service facilities. This was despite the fact that the city council had repeatedly stressed in court that the land plot's intended use was exclusively for the construction of a health centre. This designation «of the land for recreational purposes» is also confirmed by the State Register of Property Rights, which was requested by the editors of NikVesti.

This issue was also considered on 25 June 2024 at a regular meeting of the land commission. This draft decision was discussed for only a few seconds. In one of the Zoom windows, someone said: «I have no questions», and the deputies moved on to the next item.

On 27 July 2024, the session changed the designated purpose of the site — now, instead of a sports centre, it can officially accommodate road service facilities. This decision was made in a package with other land issues. On 31 October 2024, the chief architect of Mykolaiv, Yevhen Poliakov, issued urban planning conditions and restrictions for construction, which is available on the city council's website.

About 200 trees, including oak trees, are to be demolished to build the filling station

Environmentalists have marked with paint the trees that are to be cut down according to the construction plan, screenshot from a story by Suspilne Mykolaiv

As you know, in early May 2025, preparatory work began in the Ingul district of Mykolaiv for the construction of a petrol station «OKKO» and shops. The site is located at the intersection of Bohoiavlenskyi Avenue and Kobera Street. On 7 May, the contractor and a representative of the State Environmental Inspectorate inspected the site. Residents of Ingulskyi district have already appealed to Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych to stop the construction of the petrol station.

The mayor of Mykolaiv, Oleksandr Sienkevych, responded to the scandal over the construction of a petrol station in the green zone and instructed his subordinates to prepare a report.

The chief architect of Mykolaiv, Yevhen Poliakov, said he was unaware of plans to demolish about 200 trees to build a petrol station in the green zone near the plant «Zoria»-«Mashproekt» for the construction of the petrol station. Commenting on this information on 9 May in response to questions from journalists NikVesti, he called it absurd.

Mykolaiv's Department of Housing and Communal Services has drawn up a report on the survey of oak trees in the green zone at the intersection of Bohoiavlenskyi Avenue and Kobera Street, where the city council has approved the construction of the petrol station. The Mykolaiv City Hall estimated that 192 trees and more than 25 units of tree shoots were to be demolished.