Government takes over protection of part of Kyiv facilities amid possible Russian strikes on water supply

The Cabinet of Ministers is taking over the implementation of some unfinished projects to protect critical infrastructure in Kyiv and create backup power sources. At the same time, Russian forces, according to Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyi, are now paying special attention to the capital's water supply system. To reduce the risks of large-scale disruptions, the authorities are preparing additional pumping stations and alternative sources of electricity.

Koretskyi said this in an interview with BBC News Ukraine, published on 19 October. Additional data on the preparation of municipal infrastructure was released by the Kyiv City State Administration.

Government takes over part of unfinished protection projects

According to the prime minister, Kyiv's preparation for the difficult winter period could have been faster and more efficient. The central government is now directly involved in the implementation of certain projects that the city authorities did not manage to complete.

This concerns the construction of protective structures and reserve capacities for critical infrastructure. Koretskyi explained this decision by the need to speed up work before winter, as there is less and less time to complete preparations.

However, the prime minister did not specify which facilities have come under direct government responsibility, how much funding is needed to complete them, or when the work should be finished.

Separately, Koretskyi confirmed that due to a lack of budget funds, financing of certain works in Kyiv was temporarily suspended.

According to him, the payment delay lasted about two and a half weeks. The government has now resumed making the relevant payments.

The prime minister believes that this pause could not significantly change the overall state of implementation of the capital's resilience plan, which started back on 1 March.

At the same time, the Kyiv City State Administration had previously linked funding delays to the slowdown in the construction of backup power sources and other critical infrastructure facilities. The city authorities noted that some of the work depends on timely payments to contractors and the supply of equipment manufactured abroad.

Russia has increased threat to capital's water supply system

Koretskyi said that the Russian tactics of attacks on civilian infrastructure are changing. Whereas previously the main risks for large cities were prolonged power and heat outages, now a particular threat is the disruption of water supply systems.

According to the prime minister, Kyiv's water supply has become one of the areas on which Russian attacks are focused.

To protect the city system, the authorities are preparing backup power supply, additional pumping stations, and alternative options for providing consumers with water.

Such measures should reduce the dependence of water utilities on the centralized power grid and help maintain the operation of critical facilities during blackouts.

However, the prime minister admitted that even additional reserve capacities will not guarantee the usual level of public services in the event of large-scale infrastructure damage.

Some consequences of the dependence of water supply on the power grid have already been felt by Kyiv residents in October. After Russian strikes on energy facilities, several districts of the capital experienced water outages and reduced pressure in the water supply network.

Hundreds of generators operate in Kyiv, but large facilities need more powerful stations

According to the Kyiv City State Administration, about 700 generators have already been installed at heat and water supply facilities in the capital. They are used for backup power supply of boiler houses, heating points, local pumping stations, and other municipal infrastructure.

In particular, 155 pump rooms are equipped with backup sources of electricity. In case of disruptions to centralized water supply, they can be used by residents as additional sources of drinking water.

At the same time, as explained by Acting First Deputy Head of the Kyiv City State Administration Petro Panteleiev, the available generators are insufficient for autonomous power supply of the largest water and heating facilities.

For such systems, it is necessary to build separate diesel power stations or cogeneration units that can provide significantly greater capacity.

Cogeneration units allow simultaneous production of electricity and heat. Their use can reduce the dependence of utility companies on centralized energy supply.

The Kyiv City State Administration reported that some of such projects within the Kyiv Energy Resilience Plan have already been implemented and put into operation. Other facilities are planned to be completed by the end of 2026.

However, the city authorities did not provide exact data on the total number of commissioned stations and their total capacity in the relevant report.

Backup power supply remains one of the main tasks before winter

Creating additional sources of electricity should ensure the operation of not only water pumps, but also other life-support facilities of the capital during emergencies and prolonged blackouts.

At the same time, the redundancy of individual utility facilities does not mean full autonomy of the entire urban infrastructure. The ability to maintain water supply will depend on the scale of damage, the state of power grids, the capacity of backup equipment, and fuel availability.

Thus, the central and city authorities are simultaneously working on protecting facilities and creating alternative power sources. However, some projects remain unfinished, and full system readiness for possible large-scale attacks has not yet been confirmed.