South Ukraine deputies convened a session following the loss of a 5-million-euro grant

In Pivdennoukrainsk, city council members took the initiative to convene an extraordinary session of the city council due to delays in its scheduling. The community’s ability to receive a grant of over 5 million euros for the modernization of its sewer infrastructure depends on decisions being made by June 15.

This was reported by Suspilne.

Thirteen members of the Pivdennoukrainsk City Council voted to hold the 69th extraordinary session on June 12 via videoconference. The reason for this step was the repeated postponement of the meeting, which puts the community at risk of losing the opportunity to implement an important infrastructure project.

According to council member Olena Petryna, City Council Secretary Denys Kravchenko postponed the session several times and, in his latest order, scheduled it for June 16. At the same time, the community must adopt the necessary decisions by June 15 to sign an agreement for grant funding.

This involves a grant of 5.25 million euros from the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO). The funds are planned to be used for the reconstruction of two sewage pumping stations and a pressure collector. If the deadlines are missed, the community may lose the right to enter into the relevant agreement.

SCREENSHOT: suspilne.media

As of June 11, Mayor Valerii Onufrienko was on sick leave. First Deputy Mayor Mykola Pokrova stated that he does not have the authority to convene a session and has no information regarding the meeting initiated by the council members.

The council members explained their actions by citing the provisions of the Law of Ukraine “On Local Self-Government,” which allow them to convene a session on their own if the council leadership has not done so within the specified time frame at the request of at least one-third of the council members.

About 80 items were included on the agenda of the special session. Among them are securing a NEFCO grant, amending the community budget for 2026, funding for council members’ activities, issues regarding the city’s general hospital, approving the list of jurors for the city court, and over 70 housing privatization matters.

Military administration may also be introduced in Pivdennoukrainsk due to the city council’s prolonged inability to hold sessions. Because of the lack of meetings, council members cannot make decisions regarding funding for preparations for the heating season, road repairs, urban improvements, and other city needs.

Анна Бальчінос