Ukraine’s premier says heating season begins in all regions except Kherson

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Tuesday that the heating season has begun across the country.

“The heating season has started in all regions of Ukraine. The exception is the Kherson region, where the weather is still relatively warm,” Shmyhal said at a government meeting.

Indicating that the readiness of communities and regions for winter is 100%, Shmyhal said 83% of all boiler houses are in operation.

He further said that heat is supplied to 70% of residential buildings and more than 80% of schools, hospitals and kindergartens in the country.

Underscoring that relevant ministries and agencies are monitoring the situation with regard to heating, Shmyhal said Ukraine has enough of its own energy resources for the coming winter and that this winter will be the second heating season in a row during which they will use only Ukrainian gas.

“We understand that the winter will be difficult, so we are encouraging people to be energy resilient. In particular, to install alternative sources of power and generation: solar panels, wind turbines, and energy storage,” the prime minister added.