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Halytsynove Territorial Community
Mykolaiv
Population:
Halytsynove Community is located in Mykolaiv Oblast. It is situated on the left bank of the Buh River, where the river’s estuaries flow into the Dnipro estuary (Dnipro Bay), south of the city of Mykolaiv, with which the community directly borders to the north. To the south and east, the community’s border coincides with the boundary between Mykolaiv and Kherson Oblasts. The western boundary is the shore of the Buh River estuary.
The administrative center is the village of Halytsynove. The community consists of six settlements. The total area of the community is 311.35 km2
As of December 2024, the population is 6,600 people.
Internally displaced persons (IDPs): 810.
Number of children aged 0-18: 732 people.
History
The community was established on 5 January 2017.
The Halytsynove Community is renowned for its lighthouses
Since 1909, the village of Halytsynove was part of Snihurivka Raion of Kherson Uyezd. After World War II, viticulture, fishing, and fish processing continued to develop actively in the village, along with a plastics manufacturing workshop.
The modern village of Lymany emerged in 1956 from the merger of three neighboring villages: Yukhymivka, Kysliakivka, and Sviato-Troitske. Hetmanova Balka and Hetmaniv Burial Mound lie within the village of Lymany, on the left bank of the Buh estuary, south of the Ruska Spit. The name originates from Hetman Ivan Mazepa’s camp. In 1709, Ivan Mazepa’s final route passed through the village of Vitovka. Some Cossack graves have been preserved in the village cemetery of Lymany.
Economy and Welfare
Before the full-scale invasion, the Halytsynove Community had modern educational institutions with the best material resources.
Educational institutions in the Halytsynove Community had undergone modern renovations and were equipped with state-of-the-art facilities. The community achieved significant results in developing sports infrastructure and promoting a healthy lifestyle.
All schools in the community were equally well-equipped, ensuring quality and comfortable learning conditions. Thanks to modern material and technical support, every student had access to advanced equipment, technologies, and educational resources, regardless of their place of residence. This created equal opportunities for obtaining quality education and developing talents.
On 26 October, a branch of the Adult Education Center, the first in Mykolaiv Oblast, was opened in the village of Prybuzke as a partnership between the USAID DOBRE Program, DVV International Representation in Ukraine, and the NGO “Sustainable Development Club ‘Southern Initiative.'”
The community was highly successful in adult education.
The sports infrastructure includes five sports halls in the premises of general education institutions. Only two of them, in Lymany and Lupareve Lyceums, can host sports and other cultural events. The lyceums in Halytsynove and Ukrainka require major renovations. The hall in Prybuzke has been completely destroyed.
There are football fields with artificial turf in four villages of the Halytsynove Сommunity.
Residents of the Halytsynove Сommunity receive medical services at five outpatient clinics, two of which were built under the state program “Affordable Healthcare.” These clinics provide medical services beyond primary healthcare.
The Local Fire Protection Unit, established in December 2017, currently has two divisions ensuring residents’ safety and rapid response to emergencies. As of 1 October 2022, the unit consisted of 24 firefighters serving six villages. During shelling on 18 August 2022, the fire unit lost two vehicles, but thanks to Polish colleagues, a new vehicle was provided to the community.
The community has implemented the “Community Police Officer” program.
The advisory body Youth Council is actively involved in community life.
A strong economic position of the community is supported by enterprises such as Mykolaiv Alumina Plant, “Nikstrom,” “Delta-Lotsman” branch, “USPA,” and agricultural enterprises “Rodnichok,” “Tavria,” among others.
The largest employer in the community is Mykolaiv Alumina Plant, which employs about 900 people.
Despite active hostilities since early 2022, the number of undertakings has either remained at pre-war levels or increased.
There are significant restrictions and obstacles for agriculture. Pollution of agricultural lands, loss of machinery, equipment, and infrastructure, as well as labor shortages due to emigration or the mobilization of men, along with rising costs, financial losses caused by the inability to engage in farming, difficulties in accessing other resources and markets, and the overall economic crisis in the country, have created severe challenges.
More than 100 agricultural enterprises of various ownership forms are still unable to cultivate grain, industrial, and vegetable crops. Crops from fields that have been surveyed and cleared of ammunition have already been harvested in 2023, and winter crops have been sown. The lack of a functioning irrigation system has led to the displacement of vegetable farming from the villages of Prybuzke and Ukrainka, which had previously established irrigation systems and vegetable markets, including for early crops. Today, more than 300 hectares of land that had been irrigated and enriched with fertilizers for five years are now contaminated with various hazardous and explosive materials.The local port is non-operational due to a maritime blockade and a mined coastline. The community has high investment potential for business development. Its key advantages include a favorable geographic and logistical location.
The community has developed an investment profile, which is available on its official website and includes a list of current investment opportunities.
The Community and the War
Since the start of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, documenters from the “Tribunal for putin” initiative (Source: https://t4pua.org/1200) have recorded 111 episodes of war crimes allegedly committed by russian troops in the Halytsynove Community of Mykolaiv Raion.
Most of these crimes involve indiscriminate shelling, including the use of cluster munitions, which led to civilian casualties and the destruction of residential areas and social infrastructure.
The deaths of 19 civilians and injuries to 21 others due to shelling have been documented. The territory of the Mykolaiv Alumina Plant was also targeted by russian strikes.
According to local authorities in the Halytsynove Community, a total of 1,540 residential buildings have been damaged.
Technical infrastructure was also affected, impacting the availability and quality of public utilities.
In March 2022, a bridge between the villages of Prybuzke and Stepova Dolyna was destroyed, and it was rebuilt in May 2023.
The Halytsynove Community was one of the first communities to launch remote education, doing so immediately after the outbreak of full-scale war.
In Prybuzke, the shared building of the school and kindergarten was completely destroyed, but restoration work is currently underway.
The war has paralyzed cultural institutions.
Primary healthcare services remain available in five villages despite the complete destruction of the community’s largest (by area) outpatient clinic in Prybuzke, which has since been relocated to a temporary facility. Modern outpatient clinics have been established in the two largest villages, Halytsynove and Lymany, and they continue to expand and improve their services. In December 2023, the community received an ambulance vehicle to ensure rapid emergency response and medical assistance for residents.
Educational institutions, the “Bohatyr” Sports Center, village cultural houses, football fields, playgrounds, and calisthenics areas have been damaged or destroyed.
Since March 2022, fields, forests, and homes have continuously burned due to shelling and unexploded ordnance. Over this period, 312 hectares of forest have been destroyed by fire, along with hundreds of hectares of crops. Firefighters from the Halytsynove local fire brigade lost two vehicles during one of the shelling incidents, which burned out during the shelling of the fire station, but they never stopped performing their duties.
“Ukrainkivskyi Silkomunhosp” has continued to operate without interruption, providing water supply and free waste collection for residents. Thanks to cooperation between the Halytsynove Community and the DOBRE program, the local utility company received essential equipment for rapid response projects, including generators, pump equipment, and in September 2024, a mini excavator. Partial replacement of the water supply system has also been completed.
A local economic development project, “Public Kitchen,” is underway with financial support from the DOBRE program. The project involves setting up a fully equipped food preparation facility for educational purposes. Additionally, a Health and Leisure Centre is being established in the village of Luparevo through a partnership with the DOBRE program.
Community People
The head of the Halytsynove Community is Ivan Nazar.
Thanks to cooperation with international organizations and charitable foundations, daily efforts continue to provide humanitarian aid, construction materials, fuel, financial assistance, and other support to residents.
Through partnerships with the Ukrainian Association of Business Support Centers and international organizations such as IRC, DRC, Save the Children, IOM, and ACTED, grant support is available for businesses affected by the war, as well as new and developing enterprises.
The Halytsynove Village Council also collaborates with the NGOs “Traiektoriia Uspikhu” and “Mykolaiv Regional Youth Union – Blyskavka.” Key projects implemented in 2024 include:
- Fire protection project in Prybuzke: Construction of a fire station and improved working conditions for firefighters (supported by DCA).
- Reconstruction of the “Bohatyr” sports facility and launch of “BrainStorm Anti-Café” with a VR space (supported by ACTED and UNDP).
- “Happiness Laboratory”: Creation of a recreational park in Halytsynove (ADRA).
- Video surveillance systems in Prybuzke and Ukrainka (UNDP).
- Safety classrooms and a mobile safety training unit at the fire brigade station (UNDP).
- “Psychosocial Support for Adolescents” and “With Youth” projects: Improvements for an inclusive resource center and kindergarten (UNDP).
Development Strategy
The Strategy for the Development of the Territorial Community has been updated for the period up to 2027, along with the Action Plan for 2025–2027, which focuses on:
- Supporting recovery and economic development, including the local labour market.
- Ensuring safety and access to quality essential services.
- Restoring and developing the public service system, adapted to changes in the community’s population size and structure.
- Implementing a flexible, resilient, inclusive, and effective recovery and development policy.
The strategy update is carried out as part of the “Decentralization Offering Better Results and Efficiency” (DOBRE) Program, implemented by the international organization Global Communities and funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Sources
- Official website of the community