Energy crisis and city responsibility: Zelensky convened a conference call and criticized Kyiv’s preparations
15 January 20:57
President Volodymyr Zelensky held a special energy conference call with representatives of the government, regional and local authorities amid the difficult situation in the energy system and a sharp cold snap. According to him, the biggest problems are currently being experienced in the capital.
The head of state announced this on Telegram, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
“Time has been lost”: what the president said about Kyiv
Zelensky said that the situation in Kyiv is “particularly difficult” and that, in his opinion, the city authorities did not use the time to prepare properly.
“Time has been lost by the city authorities, and now the government will have to fix what was not done at the city level,” the president stressed.
He said that a permanent headquarters had already been set up for the capital, whose work would be coordinated at the government level. Full cooperation is expected from the city authorities.
Curfew and warming centers
The president announced decisions regarding curfew – given the extremely cold weather, sufficient relaxations are planned so that people and businesses have the necessary opportunities to work.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs has been instructed to check and expand the network of support and warming centers in cities. Separately, Zelensky emphasized that Kyiv’s support centers currently need to be strengthened.
Electricity imports and equipment connections
The head of state said that the government must decide today to simplify and increase electricity imports, both for state-owned companies and the private sector. He also expects immediate simplification of regulations for connecting additional equipment to the grid.
Where the situation is tense
During the conference call, the situation in a number of regions was discussed. Zelenskyy thanked the Kharkiv authorities for what he called their responsible approach to organizing the energy sector in an emergency situation.
Requests from the Dnipropetrovsk region, in particular Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih, and other communities in the region, are also being processed. The government will pay special attention to the Chernihiv region. The president described the situation in the Sumy region as difficult.
The problems in the Boryspil and Brovary districts of the Kyiv region were discussed separately. Zelensky expects reports on the implementation of the decisions taken by the evening.
Protection of energy facilities
The president announced a separate meeting with the Minister of Defense and the Commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The meeting will focus on the protection of energy facilities and additional requests to international partners to strengthen air defense.
On January 14, Zelensky announced the introduction of a state of emergency in the energy sector and the creation of a permanent headquarters to coordinate work in Kyiv. At the same time, he stated that “very little” had been done in the capital to prepare for a crisis scenario.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko responded by saying that the city authorities and services were doing everything possible to ensure the city’s functioning. At the same time, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that Kyiv was much less prepared for massive strikes on energy facilities than Kharkiv.
On January 15, the capital’s headquarters for dealing with the aftermath of the shelling was already considering the issue of a curfew and the operation of “points of invincibility.”
