Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi to build a team for Kyiv’s winter preparations, citing gaps in the capital’s resilience work and infrastructure protection.
Interfax-Ukraine reported the request from a meeting with journalists on Oct. 27, citing its correspondent who attended. Zelenskyy asked Koretskyi to assemble experienced managers and business representatives and said he would approach people the prime minister identified.
Zelenskyy said Kyiv’s resilience plan was not fully implemented and critical infrastructure was not fully protected. Interfax-Ukraine also reported that he described interagency work on the capital’s electricity and water supplies and bridges, and said protections should apply regardless of which authority owns an asset.
He said he had discussed involving former Security Service chief Vasyl Maliuk, former infrastructure minister Oleksandr Kubrakov and former Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman. He also said Serhii Sukhomlyn had declined. Interfax-Ukraine’s account did not confirm that any of the people named had accepted a role.
The president’s office said the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) approved Kyiv’s comprehensive resilience plan Aug. 5. Its winter priorities included protecting critical infrastructure, providing adequate shelters and strengthening anti-ballistic capabilities.
Kyiv’s official portal reported Klitschko’s figures on Sept. 18: 80% of preparation measures were complete, and the centralized heating system was 90% ready. Those figures use different benchmarks from the government’s June assessment of the plan’s shortcomings.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (CMU) said in June that the updated plan had significant shortcomings and that city and national authorities were sharing costs equally. It reported nearly UAH 3 billion allocated for Kyiv resilience measures and nearly UAH 4 billion for preparatory work overall. In August, the CMU announced UAH 35.2 billion for resilience plans across regions and selected cities, in addition to UAH 27.5 billion previously allocated; it did not specify Kyiv’s share.
