Kherson Prepares for a Winter Without Heat: After KAB Strikes on the Thermal Power Plant, Prokudin Calls on Residents to Evacuate

Kherson authorities warn that the city will likely face the coming winter without its usual heat and energy supply. Alexander Prokudin, head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, stated in his Telegram channel that due to systematic Russian shelling, the Kherson Thermal Power Plant (TPP) and other critical infrastructure facilities will be unable to operate in normal mode. This is reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing a statement by the head of the Regional Administration.

Strikes on the TPP: Chronology of the Destruction

According to Prokudin, overnight Russian military forces again attacked the Kherson TPP with aviation bombs, causing very serious damage to the facility. As the head of the Regional Administration reminded, on August 26, 2026, the Russians struck the plant with a guided aviation bomb, inflicting substantial damage. The very next day, on August 27, the enemy attacked the facility again, launching four KABs at once. As a result, the Kherson TPP, which is the city's main source of heat, lost all of its equipment and suffered critical destruction.

Winter Without Light or Heat

Authorities warn that the city may be left without electricity and heating not for hours or days, but for an extended period. The security situation in Kherson, according to the regional administration, remains extremely difficult: the enemy is intensifying strikes on infrastructure on a daily basis. Prokudin emphasized that currently no region in the country has the means to destroy the relevant types of drones, as well as KABs.

Call for Evacuation and Support for Displaced Persons

Against this backdrop, residents of Kherson—above all families with children and elderly people—are being urged to leave the city and move to safer regions wherever possible. Those who decide to leave are promised assistance with transport, housing, and social support. Authorities, together with utility companies, energy workers, and the Government, are already working out alternative heat and energy supply options, but residents are advised not to take risks.

Contradictory Data

While the official statement of the Regional Administration and Ukrainian media outlets (RBC-Ukraine, "Korrespondent") link the call for evacuation to the shelling of infrastructure and the risk of winter power and heat outages, some foreign media, in particular delfi.lv, frame the evacuation from Kherson in the context of a flood. This may reflect an earlier or parallel episode; however, in Prokudin's current statement, the reason for leaving is named as precisely the strikes on critical infrastructure and the lack of air defense means against KABs and UAVs.

Thus, the upcoming heating season in Kherson is unfolding amid uncertainty: the plant that had been supplying the city with heat has been knocked out by a series of air strikes, and alternative supply schemes are only just being developed. Regional authorities are betting on relocating the most vulnerable categories of citizens to safer regions.