Oleksii Kuleba chairs meeting of the State Commission on Technogenic and Environmental Safety and Emergency Situations

Deputy Prime Minister for the Restoration of Ukraine and Minister for Communities and Territories Development Oleksii Kuleba chaired a meeting of the State Commission on Technogenic and Environmental Safety and Emergency Situations. The main focus was on the readiness of state and local services for emergency situations during the autumn-winter period and on the stable passage of the heating season.

Participants included representatives from the State Emergency Service, Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture, State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development, State Agency of Forest Resources, State Agency of Water Resources, other state enterprises and institutions, and regional and city military administrations.

Almost every day, russia targets Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, doing everything to disrupt the possibility of a normal winter. Oleksii Kuleba emphasised that communities must be prepared for any scenarios – from local accidents to massive shelling.

“In conditions of constant shelling and a difficult winter, coordinated actions of all levels of government are extremely important. Together with communities, the Government, regional administrations, and services, we must work as a single system. Everyone must understand their role – from inventorying resources and forming reserves to communicating with people. We must ensure not paper readiness, but real ability to respond to challenges. The resilience of the state and the safety of people this winter depend on joint coordination,” Oleksii Kuleba emphasised.

Deputy Minister for Communities and Territories Development Kostiantyn Kovalchuk noted that special attention should be paid to the readiness of critical infrastructure facilities for disruptions in energy and water supply, as well as the creation of alternative power sources for water supply and drainage systems.

“Every region, every community must once again analyse and test all possibilities of backup and alternative power supply to be ready to ensure the operation of systems even in case of power outages, have their own clear action plan – taking into account the most critical points,” Kostiantyn Kovalchuk noted.

At the same time, Kostiantyn Kovalchuk reported that today, about a third of social sphere facilities across the country have already been connected to heating. This includes hospitals, educational institutions, and kindergartens. Meanwhile, local self-government bodies are gradually making decisions on further connection of all facilities and residential buildings, taking into account the operational situation. At the same time, it is important to be economical and connect heating according to temperature indicators.

The discussion also covered the deployment of Points of Invincibility and coordination centres to support the population during possible crisis situations. Currently, 13,496 Points of Invincibility have been prepared in the country, considering that it was planned to create 12,000 such Points. Of these, 8,000 operate in permanent mode, and 4,500 are ready to open if necessary.

Background

The State Commission on Technogenic and Environmental Safety and Emergency Situations is a permanently acting coordinating body of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Its tasks are the organisation and coordination of measures in the field of prevention and response to emergency situations, protection of life and health of the population, as well as recovery after emergency events.