Ukraine has prepared around 100,000 residential buildings for the upcoming winter season, as authorities continue strengthening the resilience of heating and water infrastructure against possible Russian attacks.
Minister of Recovery, Infrastructure and Transport, Mykola Kalashnyk said the figures were presented during a meeting with Ukraine’s government, the Verkhovna Rada, alongside the new Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi on Friday, Aug. 21.
More than 70% of the plan, “along with 12,400 boiler houses and 11,700 kilometers (roughly 7,270 miles) of heating networks” has been prepared, Kalashnyk said.
Funding and repairs
Nearly Hr. 6.8 billion ($152 million) has been allocated for preparation works and repairs as authorities seek to protect energy infrastructure from Russian attacks.
Ukraine is increasingly preparing all its sectors nationwide, including its air defenses, critical infrastructure and residents for the 2026-27 heating season, which typically begins in autumn and runs through spring.
Energy resilience
Kalashnyk said the government’s priorities include decentralizing energy systems, maintaining reserve capacity and protecting critical infrastructure.
Authorities are also seeking to ensure that heating and water supply networks can operate autonomously where necessary, as well as to be restored quickly after attacks.
Kalashnyk thanked Verkhovna Rada spokesperson Ruslan Stefanchuk and lawmakers for what he described as a substantive discussion on the country’s energy resilience and winter preparations.
Winter preparations still ongoing
On July 1, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine is preparing for winter by securing gas supplies and protecting energy infrastructure and logistics routes, while building new foreign energy partnerships.
He warned that communities lagging behind in resilience plans may face personnel consequences.
As part of a broader Cabinet reshuffle, Zelensky appointed Koretsky on July 15 as Prime Minister, praising expertise as vital for Ukraine’s winter survival. Zelensky cited Koretskyi’s reform of Ukrnafta after years of oligarchic control and his leadership of Naftogaz through a difficult previous winter despite Russian strikes.
On Aug. 10, Ukraine’s energy staff, chaired by Koretskyi, held a meeting to assess electricity and gas balances ahead of winter. Authorities ordered energy companies to accelerate protective measures.
Estonia’s Foreign Ministry announced €340,000 ($392,000) in aid to help Ukraine prepare for another winter of war on Aug. 12, with the funds pledged to frontline families, displaced Ukrainians, and rescuers through non-governmental organization (NGO) partners.
Separately on the same day, Kyiv authorities announced they were compiling lists of residents who may need temporary relocation if Russian strikes cause prolonged heating outages this winter.
On Aug. 13, Ukrainian authorities met with Japan’s outgoing Ambassador to Ukraine, Masashi Nakagome, with the discussions centering on police, lab equipment donations, and heating infrastructure ahead of winter.
“Much attention during the meeting was devoted to energy security,” The Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council Ihor Klymenko said about a separate meeting with Nakagome on the same day.
According to the ministry’s website, Kalashnyk separately met with Nakagome on Aug. 11, where the two discussed deploying modular boiler houses in Lviv, Kyiv, and Kherson regions with a combined capacity exceeding 400 megawatts (MW), along with building a reserve of water and wastewater equipment for winter operations.
“It is difficult to survive for more than three days without water and sewage,” said Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal on Aug. 4, adding that Russia has damaged or destroyed more than 80% of Ukraine’s electricity generation capacity since launching its full-scale invasion.