The most difficult winter in the history of Kharkiv: Igor Terekhov on preparations for the heating season in the city

This winter will be the hardest for Kharkiv in its entire history. This was announced by the mayor of the city Igor Terekhov on the air of the national telethon, talking about the preparation of the city for the heating season. He emphasized that this process is extremely difficult due to constant Russian shelling. However, despite the threats, utility workers work day and night to provide residents with heat, water and electricity.

One of the main problems is the complete destruction of thermal power plants that used to provide the city with heat. Russian attacks caused the destruction not only of heat supply facilities, but also of electricity generation throughout the Kharkiv region. This led to the need to transport electricity from other regions of Ukraine, which, according to the mayor, significantly complicated energy supply.

In order to prepare for the cold weather and strengthen energy security, the city authorities developed a plan to turn Kharkiv into an energy “island”. According to this plan, 141 units of modern energy equipment will be installed in the city by the end of 2024. This list includes cogeneration and gas turbine plants, transformers, as well as block-modular boiler houses. The introduction of such equipment will not only partially restore heat supply, but will also create a backup system for possible accidents.

Preparatory work is being carried out at full speed, and most of the installations will be ready before the start of the heating season. However, Terekhov noted that the key factor remains the timely delivery of the necessary equipment so that all work can be completed by the end of the year.

An additional challenge for the city is the organization of citizens’ safety during shelling. The mayor emphasized that the shelters in Kharkiv are actively preparing for winter, and most of the work in this direction is already at the final stage. These shelters should provide minimum conditions for residents in case of new attacks during cold weather.

Despite all the difficulties, the city authorities are trying to do everything possible to protect Kharkiv residents from the consequences of war and winter weather, although the scale of destruction and security challenges remain significant.