Overall the German city plans to donate 40 MAN trucks to Kharkiv, an essential humanitarian transport aid, as the city has lost 12 buses, 30 trams and more than 20 trolleybuses during the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Source: Head of the Saltivske Tram Depot, on the Kharkivski Visti YouTube channel.

The utilities managed to restore all other transport. According to Vladyslav Pryimak, the city lost UAH 158 million on these works. The Kharkiv delegation will soon go to pick up 10 buses.

Earlier, Nuremberg donated three MAN buses to the city. In February 2023, transport started running in Kharkiv, with one between Svobody Square and Pyatikhatki.

Demolition of a tram line in Kharkiv

On the other hand, during the war, local authorities destroyed the 26th tram route in Kharkiv.

The widening of Vesnina Street is one of the most scandalous reconstructions in Kharkiv in recent years. Activists, experts, and local residents were against removing the tram from this street and Zhuravlivsky Descent. While active hostilities were occurring near the city, officials destroyed the tram route connecting the residential area with the city center. The war allowed the authorities to disregard public opinion, completely remove the tram from the street and widen the road, using legally questionable decisions.

The fact is that during the war, the authorities spent more than UAH 200 million / $5,42 million on a project that was controversial in terms of feasibility through their favorite contractor without waiting for a new master plan to be created.

Photo: Dmytro Bulakh, Facebook

The tram line was removed in May 2022 during the reconstruction of Vesnina Street. The work, which cost the budget UAH 200 million, was carried out under fire. After removing the tram, the street was widened for cars. “If we want Kharkiv to be a successful and dynamically developing city, we need to build such highways,” explained Mayor Ihor Terekhov.

At the same time, city officials did not announce their intention to dismantle the tram line completely.