There is no one left to work: Kim announced a severe staff shortage in the Mykolaiv region

30 квітня 2026 р. 23:44

30 квітня 2026 р. 23:44

In the Mykolaiv region , a staffing crisis is intensifying in almost all key sectors. The shortage of people is felt most acutely in healthcare, education, social services, emergency rescue units, and in jobs that require technical specialists. This was said by the head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration Vitaliy Kim on the air of “United News” .

According to him, the personnel deficit in the region reaches approximately 30-40% . The problem is not limited to a lack of new employees: many teams are left with older workers who continue to work out of responsibility and reluctance to abandon their work in wartime.

Vitaliy Kim explained that the region faces situations where equipment or the volume of work exists, but there are critically not enough people to carry out these tasks. He separately drew attention to education and healthcare, where the staff shortage, in his estimate, remains at no less than 30-40% .

The head of the region named not only the war itself but also prolonged psychological and physical exhaustion of people as the cause of the staffing hunger. Constant shelling, working under pressure, responsibility for children, patients and those affected by attacks gradually exhaust the strength of those who have been holding the frontline region for years.

The situation in the social sphere remains especially difficult. According to Vitaliy Kim , the authorities have discussed this problem with international partners and with psychologists working in schools and kindergartens. People are not simply performing daily duties; they do so under the risk of repeated shelling and in a state of constant anxiety.

The head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration believes that local solutions alone will not solve the problem. In his view, frontline territories need a separate state support program that takes into account different living and working conditions compared to safer regions.

“Financial instruments, providing housing under contracts, incentive payments, raising salaries for current employees, and preferably — compensation for the past four years so that it is fair. This should be a state program to support frontline zones. Our conditions are somewhat different, and the standard conditions do not work. What people say: ‘Give us rest and pay us money.’ These are basic things we must consider,” emphasized Vitaliy Kim.

Separately, the head of the region called for special guarantees for professions whose representatives work daily in areas of increased danger. This concerns, in particular, rescuers State Emergency Service (SES) , medical workers and other staff who are the first to respond to Russian shelling sites, evacuate people and provide aid to the injured. According to Kim, a separate status similar to combatant status (UBD) should be considered for such categories, as well as special benefits for those working in frontline districts where danger is not a one-time event but a part of daily work.

The region is also considering options to attract specialists through housing programs. Possible instruments include compensation, purchase of housing, or provision of official housing on the condition of a five-year contract.

In fact, the authorities acknowledge that patriotism and people’s sense of responsibility can no longer remain the only support for frontline Mykolaiv region . If the state does not offer real financial and social mechanisms, the shortage of staff in hospitals, schools, social services and rescue units may only deepen.

Note: previously we wrote:

• Mykolaiv lacks over UAH 50 million for salaries in culture and education: positions and library branches under threat
• Mykolaiv region lags behind Ukraine in average salary and is sinking in debt
• Doctors avoid villages in the Mykolaiv region: only one medic received UAH 200,000, 6 out of 200 interns arrived
• Mykolaiv Oblast may become subsidized in 2026, – Kim
• A staffing famine is suffocating the Mykolaiv region: pensioners are saving healthcare, the young are not staying

Миколаївські