Zelensky says Kyiv is lagging on winter resilience plan
The Ukrainian president said city authorities had taken almost none of the required steps and assigned personal responsibility to officials.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv authorities had almost entirely failed to carry out the measures required under the city’s resilience plan. He called the delays unacceptable and assigned personal responsibility to the Ministry of Infrastructure and regional administrations.
Zelensky discussed implementation after a meeting with military and government officials. He said separate tasks had been set for Kyiv because city authorities had taken almost none of the necessary steps. Ukraine’s Ukrinform news agency and Italy’s LaPresse reported his statement.
Ukraine’s authorities had previously warned of difficulties during the coming heating season. Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said the winter would be difficult and preparations were necessary whether or not hostilities ended. In August, Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky estimated the energy sector’s funding shortfall ahead of winter at €650 million.
Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council approved Kyiv’s comprehensive resilience plan on August 5. A presidential decree bringing the council’s decision into force was published on August 31. The official document identifies preparation for the 2026–27 autumn and winter period as one reason for the plan.
Scheduled power cuts resumed in Kyiv in early October. On October 8, Shmyhal reported damage to an important energy facility in the capital. RBC said the outlets Insider and Strana also reported a blackout. The source article said power problems halted trams, trolleybuses and the metro.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the capital was moving into “survival mode.” He rejected accusations by national leaders that Kyiv was behind schedule in preparing for winter, saying: “Looking for scapegoats will not give people more heat.”
In August, Russian President Vladimir Putin called strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure effective and timely. He said they complicated the delivery of equipment and ammunition, the rotation of Ukrainian units and the work of defense-industrial enterprises. Russia’s Defense Ministry has repeatedly maintained that strikes target only military and energy facilities in Ukraine and related infrastructure.
