President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed dissatisfaction with the pace of the capital’s preparation for the heating season and proposed involving Oleksandr Kubrakov to assist the city authorities.
Lack of a resilience plan
During a conversation with journalists, the Head of State reported that as of March 1, all regions of Ukraine had provided detailed “resilience plans”, except for Kyiv. Because of this, the capitals were given an additional week to finalize the document.
The President emphasized that the regions that invested in cogeneration and decentralization of energy supply in advance went through this winter with minimal challenges.
“Nobody is relaxing, we understand that we have only 6-7 months until the next season. The program for protecting energy facilities requires 5 billion euros. This is a nationwide issue, but we cannot “move the feet” of each mayor. They must be responsible for their communities,” Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized.
Personal responsibility and government assistance
Zelensky noted that the issue of personal responsibility of officials was raised at the NSDC meeting. According to him, Kyiv remained the only region where the protection of facilities and strategic planning raise serious concerns.
Key theses of the President:
Funding vs. Organization: Money is only part of the challenge; the direct protection of facilities and the creation of alternative generation are the responsibility of local authorities.
Forecast for the future: If the protection plan is not properly prepared and implemented, the next winter for the capital may be just as difficult.
Personnel reinforcement: The President proposed to involve former Minister of Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov in solving Kyiv’s energy problems.
“I want Kubrakov, while working together with the city authorities, to focus specifically on the energy security of the capital,” the President concluded.
