On April 16, Minister for Communities and Territories Development Oleksii Chernyshov paid a working visit to Sumy region. In the area where many settlements have been either occupied or blocked by the enemy, life and functioning of facilities are gradually recovering.

The Minister together with head of Sumy Regional Military Administration (RMA) Dmytro Zhyvytskyy and Sumy Head Oleksandr Lysenko inspected the most damaged residential areas of Sumy. The actions of the enemy were not different from those in other regions - they ruthlessly destroyed the homes of civilians.

During a meeting with the regional leadership, Oleksii Chernyshov noted that the Government's priority is to eliminate the consequences of hostilities, help people repair and rebuild their homes, ensure the resumption of all housing and communal services and sustainable food supply.

"Sumy RMA receives the first UAH 250 million from the Government to mitigate the effect of hostilities, so the task for the regional leadership is to carry out the relevant work as soon as possible," said the Minister.

Currently, the activities on dismantling of the demined areas of the region, cleaning of damaged areas, and repair of damaged critical infrastructure are underway. Utilities and employees of the Main Directorate of the SES in Sumy region work 24/7.

In total, more than 976 objects in the region were either completely destroyed or damaged. Including 638 residential buildings, 24 educational institutions, 23 life support facilities, 18 healthcare facilities.

During the working trip, the Minister visited the city of Trostianets, which has suffered significant damage and needs to be completely rebuilt. In particular, he inspected the Trostyanets City Hospital, which had been completely reconstructed before the invasion of the region and equipped with modern medical equipment, and now mercilessly attacked upon by the enemy.

According to the head of Trostianets, projects for the reconstruction of the hospital, the destroyed city center and the central railway station are already being developed. Demining of the city is underway to provide the possibility of full-fledged work on the inspection of damaged buildings and structures.

The working trip ended in Okhtyrka, a city which was awarded the honorary award Hero City of Ukraine by the Decree of the President of Ukraine.

The city was hit hard by missiles and bombs. Among the destroyed facilities is Okhtyrka TPP - the only supplier of heat energy, hot water supply for the population, budget institutions and other organizations of the city.

"The facility needs a complete renovation before the start of the 2022/2023 heating season. Together with the head of Sumy RMA, the city head Pavlo Kuzmenko and the director of CHP Hryhorii Yurko we have determined the stages of resumption of the enterprise," the Minister said, adding that he expects proposals from the city administration on a new heat supply scheme and TPP reconstruction project.