President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky held a special conference call with all regions on April 20, with the participation of the Prime Minister and members of the government, dedicated to preparations for the next heating season — primarily from a security standpoint. The President reported this on social media.
“For all our oblasts, cities and communities, quite specific resilience plans have been approved. These are clear documents that determine which facilities most urgently need restoration, where additional protection is required, and what tasks cities and communities must complete so that people receive guaranteed supplies of heat and electricity in winter, despite any threats. The deadline for implementing resilience plans for all cities and communities is September 1 of this year. Accordingly, there is a strict schedule for concluding contracts and carrying out work, which must be fulfilled by all regional and local authorities. Unfortunately, as of today, not all regions are working exactly as needed to protect people”, - the President noted.
“Today we discussed in detail the situation in regions that are lagging behind schedule. Particular attention was paid to the Donetsk, Chernihiv, Poltava, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Lviv oblasts, and the city of Kyiv. In the capital, there is clearly a lack of understanding that by next winter sufficient backup sources of electricity and heat supply must be ensured for all districts of the city. In the Lviv oblast, there are issues with several energy facilities, and it is necessary for regional authorities and government structures to clearly determine who exactly should be responsible for the timely fulfillment of this state task”, - Zelensky emphasized.
He also noted that he had instructed the Commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, together with the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, to work with the leaders of the Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv oblast, Kharkiv oblasts on additional provision of interceptors and training of crews.
“Our warriors must have sufficient quantity and quality of means to respond to all types of ‘Shahed’ UAVs. The government of Ukraine is ready to assist regions that need it and whose requests are justified. A separate list of tasks is being carried out by the Recovery Agency”, - the President emphasized.