During a working trip to Odesa region, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting on eliminating the aftermath of severe weather in Odesa, Mykolaiv, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Poltava and Cherkasy regions. The meeting was attended by regional leaders and representatives of Odesa city authorities.
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said that rescuers, utility workers, police officers and national guards were involved in the recovery efforts. In particular, they provided assistance to drivers and passengers of vehicles stranded on the roads and set up warming stations.
Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko noted that the highest number of power outages remains in Odesa and Mykolaiv regions.
The President instructed to promptly expedite the restoration of the electricity supply. The Head of the state emphasized the urgent need to increase the number of repair crews and equipment, including, if necessary, utilizing the potential of regions unaffected by the adverse weather conditions.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy also emphasized the need to increase the number of "Points of Invincibility" so that as many people as possible could receive the necessary assistance.
Head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration Oleh Kiper said that "Points of Invincibility" in the region are operational, and efforts to restore electricity supply in the settlements are ongoing. According to his words, there have been no issues with water and gas supply in the region.
Oleh Kiper also said that on the first day of the emergency there was a three-hour delay in railway transport operations. Overall, the consequences of the adverse weather conditions are being addressed, and network operations are being restored.
He informed about the damage to a boiler facility in Odesa, in a neighborhood where about 120,000 people reside. A smokestack collapsed there, and repair works are currently ongoing.
Іn order to avoid buying new equipment at the moment, the Regional Military Administration will assist the city in repairing the smokestack at the expense of the region so that people can have heat as soon as possible. Yesterday, as reported by the Head of the Odesa Regional State Administration, the heating was switched on from one of the boilers.
"We've started the boiler facility - it's operational. But it is powered by one boiler. We believe that by December 15, we'll manage to eliminate these damages - we'll remove the sections that are currently hanging from the damaged roof, cover them up, and there will be warmth," said Oleh Kiper.
Head of Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration Vitaliy Kim said that due to the inclement weather in the region, 295 populated areas experienced power outages, with electricity already restored in 263 of them. Access has been cleared to others, and repair work has commenced. In total, 453 citizens were evacuated, and fortunately, there have been no casualties.
"In Mykolaiv region, traffic was prohibited on ten state highways, nine of which have already been reopened, and we plan to open the last one by tonight," said Vitaliy Kim.
Andriy Raykovych, Head of the Kirovohrad Regional Military Administration, informed that all roads of international, national and regional importance in the region are open for traffic.
"Of the settlements that have been cut off since November 27, four are still without electricity. Today we plan to restore power supply there," he said.
Also, according to Andriy Raykovych, mobile "Points of Invincibility" have been deployed on the highways to help drivers.
Ruslan Kravchenko, Head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration, reported that the vital activity of citizens in the region was ensured, and all roads were cleared.
"At peak hours, 48,000 subscribers were disconnected from the power supply. Within 11 hours, they were all reconnected," he informed.
According to Ruslan Kravchenko, 127 road accidents were reported, with four people killed.
Filip Pronin, Head of the Poltava Regional Military Administration, also provided an update on the situation in the region. According to him, the roads in Poltava region are passable. On November 27, 437 settlements were cut off due to severe weather, and as of November 28, all of them were reconnected. Today, 49 outages occurred again due to the weather, and repairs are expected to be completed by the end of the day. 360 schools were operating in a remote format, but now all are working in full-time mode. All hospitals and 584 "Points of Invincibility" in the region were also operational.
Ihor Taburets, Head of the Cherkasy Regional Military Administration, said that the Cherkasy region, in collaboration with law enforcement, the State Emergency Service, and road workers, prepared for the anticipated severe weather. They identified 30 critical points where complications might arise. According to him, there were warming stations for drivers operating, as well as 201 "Points of Invincibility". The Head of the Cherkasy Regional Military Administration noted that the private sector was actively involved in road clearing in the communities.
The President was also briefed on the elimination of the aftermath of inclement weather in Dnipropetrovsk, Chernihiv and Sumy regions.
Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Oleksiy Kuleba told the Head of State that the initial batch of almost 50 tons of technical salt, extracted from the Solotvyno deposit in Zakarpattia, was dispatched to Odesa region. In response to the critical weather situation, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promptly ordered the extraction, loading and swift transportation of the salt to Odesa region, where the consequences of the severe weather are being eliminated, to ensure the passage of equipment along the Kyiv-Odesa highway.
