President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting with heads of Ukrainian cities dedicated to preparation for winter and protection of critical infrastructure from Russian attacks. The main requirement was timely informing of the central authorities about the situation on the ground and prompt decision-making.
The head of state reported this on November 13 on Telegram.
The meeting was attended by mayors of Kharkiv, Dnipro, Uzhhorod, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Cherkasy, Mykolaiv, and Vinnytsia. Also present were acting city heads of Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Lutsk, and Rivne, representatives of the Association of Ukrainian Cities and the Ukrainian Association of District and Regional Councils.
Prime Minister of Ukraine Serhiy Koretskyi joined the discussion.
According to Zelensky, this was the first meeting in such a format. In the future, it is planned to hold such meetings regularly.
The President emphasized that preparation of cities and territorial communities for the winter period remains one of the main state priorities, especially against the backdrop of ongoing Russian strikes on energy, transport, and residential infrastructure.
Meeting participants discussed the state of energy, air defense, internal security threats, resilience of communications, and organization of assistance to the population.
Special attention was paid to interaction between central, regional, and local authorities. According to Zelensky, state bodies must receive reliable information from every city and region to respond to problems in a timely manner.
Another area of work will be creation of mechanisms to help people who may find themselves in difficult conditions in winter. At the same time, the President drew attention to the need to maintain financial stability of territorial communities.
The parties also considered possible risks to cities in the event of new Russian shelling and discussed distribution of responsibility between different levels of government.
Recall that earlier Zelensky criticized the pace of electricity restoration in Bila Tserkva and Brovary, where residents were left without power for several days. The President also stated that local services provided inaccurate reports on the electricity situation.
