11 March 2025
(Photo: Collage by Intent)
Despite the closed airspace and missile strikes that destroyed Mykolaiv airport, its head continues to receive a salary.
In 2024, Volodymyr Berko , acting director of Mykolaiv International Airport, received UAH 433.4 thousand in salary, MikVisti reports.
In total, in 2024, the airport manager was paid UAH 547 thousand, but after taxes, the amount amounted to UAH 433.4 thousand. His monthly income averaged 36.3 thousand hryvnias, although in July (35.1 thousand hryvnias) and December (34.7 thousand hryvnias) he received slightly less.
Volodymyr Berko, who has been acting as the director of the airport in Mykolaiv since March 2023, declared UAH 667.1 thousand in salary. This was reported by Intent.
The head of Mykolaiv Airport Authority , Vitalii Kim, explained that the airport manager receives a salary because he performs the necessary duties so that the company does not lose its license. According to him, if the airport ceases operations and employees are fired, it will cost much more to renew the permits. Kim also noted that Berko receives about 30-35 thousand hryvnias per month from the state, and the rest of the payments are his pension and funds from his previous job.
At the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, Mykolaiv International Airport became one of the key targets of Russian troops. As early as March 2022, the airport was heavily shelled and its infrastructure was severely damaged.
According to local authorities, the Ukrainian military was in control of the facility and successfully repelled attacks by Russian forces that tried to use the airport as a springboard for a further attack on the city. The defense of Mykolaiv in those days was critical to deterring the enemy's advance toward Odesa.
After unsuccessful attempts to break through, Russian troops continued to shell the airport with rockets and artillery, leading to its actual destruction. Subsequently, the fighting moved closer to the Kherson region, and Mykolaiv survived, remaining under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
As of 2025, the airport remains destroyed and non-functional due to closed airspace and significant infrastructure damage.
Mykolaiv Airport needs €13 million to rebuild. Due to the damage to the infrastructure, the airport cannot operate normally.
In March 2023, professional inspectors inspected the territory and facilities of the Mykolaiv International Airport Municipal Enterprise that were damaged as a result of hostilities to determine the damage caused to the environment.
Андрій Колісніченко