Documents sought for 30 years: Mykolaiv resumes park creation procedure «Druzhba»

«Horizontal oak» in the park «Druzhba». Archive photo NikVesti

Documents confirming the creation of the Druzhba Monument Park in Mykolaiv have finally been found after years of searching. Now the issue will be submitted to the regional council session.

This became known during a meeting of the Mykolaiv Regional Council's Commission on Ecology, according to NikVesti.

Oleksandra Yefimenko, head of the environmental department of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration, said that the park «Druzhba» in Korabelnyi district was reserved by a decision of the regional council back in 1993. At the same time, any construction, reconstruction or felling of greenery was prohibited on this territory.

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However, the procedure for creating the park was never completed, and in 2021, it had to be virtually started all over again.

According to Oleksandra Yefimenko, the department has repeatedly appealed to the city council to resolve this issue. But it was only on 14 November that the city provided a response — along with a reference to the 1994 decision, which officially approved the creation of a park-monument of landscape art in the territory of the park «Druzhba».

«Thus, we have a petition that is supported by the decision of the regional council. We have the approval of the Mykolaiv City Council to create this object and we can continue this procedure. We also managed to find out that in 2016, the Mykolaiv City Council had already established the boundaries of this park. According to the procedure, we only need to develop a project and submit it to the session of the regional council», said Oleksandra Yefimenko.

Alla Riazhskykh, the head of the commission, summed up the situation: «You see how simple it is: we have been looking for documents for 30 years and found».

The commission members recommended that the Department of Ecology of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration provide funds in the budget for 2026 for the development of a project to create a park-monument «Druzhba».

It should be noted that the park also has a natural monument of local importance — «Horizontal Oak». As reported in 2023 by the Department of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration, the tree has an atypical crown formed horizontally to the ground, which is why the tree was named Horizontal. The height of the tree is 9.5 metres, the diameter of the crown is 20 metres, and the trunk girth is 250 centimetres (at a height of 80 centimetres).

In August 2025, at least 25% of the park «Druzhba» was destroyed by fire. Fortunately, the «Horizontal Oak» was not damaged. However, several dozen hectares burned to the ground.

The aftermath of the fire in the «Druzhba» park in Mykolaiv, 10 July 2025. Photo: ME «Mykolaiv Parks»

Consequences of the fire in the park «Druzhba» in Mykolaiv, 10 July 2025. Photo: ME «Mykolaiv Parks»

After that, ME «Mykolaiv Parks» did not contact the police.

It is also worth mentioning that in March 2023, six new objects of the nature reserve fund of local importance appeared in the Mykolaiv region.