Kyiv authorities began to turn on heating in social infrastructure facilities, such as hospitals, schools, and kindergartens, at the request of their management, Vitali Klitschko, the capital's mayor, said on Oct. 9.
Klitschko also said that the heating in residential buildings would be turned on depending on the weather conditions.
When the average daily temperature drops below eight degrees Celsius for three consecutive days with a forecast for further cooling, the heating will be turned on in residential buildings as well, the mayor clarified.
Ukrainian officials have warned that Russia would likely escalate its attacks against Ukraine's energy infrastructure in the coming fall and winter months. On Sept. 21, Ukraine's state energy operator Ukrenergo reported the first mass strike on the country's energy infrastructure in six months.
Moscow has attempted such a strategy already in the fall and winter of 2022-2023, causing regular blackouts amid freezing temperatures.
As of Aug. 13, the Ukrainian government said it had repaired 80% of the main power grids and high-voltage stations damaged by Russian attacks to their pre-war condition and that 62% of the planned repair work on power units had been completed at the country's thermal power stations.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal then announced on Sept. 12 that over 80% of heating networks, 78% of central heating stations, and more than 80% of residential buildings, 86% of schools, kindergartens, and hospitals were ready for winter, adding that "it should be 100% in a month."
Alexander Query
