The State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SES) is completing the preparation of its forces and equipment for operations under severe winter conditions. As Oleksandr Kharchenko, Head of the State Emergency Management Center of the SES, stated during a briefing, more than 1.1 thousand stationary and mobile invincibility points have been prepared to date. According to him, the service's main task is to provide prompt assistance to people if severe weather, accidents, or Russian strikes pose a threat to the life and health of citizens.
Autonomous Power and Heat Cannons
To ensure the operation of critical infrastructure facilities in the event of outages, the SES is ready to deploy powerful generators with a capacity of 30 kW or more, as well as heat cannons. This will maintain autonomous power supply and heating in locations where stationary systems are non-operational. Kharchenko emphasized that the service is ready to deploy all available means if there is a real threat to human life and health and rescue assistance is required.
Water Supply and Public Alerting
A separate block of preparation concerns water supply accidents: drinking and industrial water in such cases will be delivered by specialized water trucks and tankers. If stationary sirens fail to function, public alerting will be carried out via loudspeakers installed on fire and rescue vehicles. Thus, the service is establishing backup communication channels with citizens in case main systems fail.
Deployment of Assistance Points and Hot Meals
To support people during prolonged crisis situations, the SES can deploy assistance points: tents and modular towns for long-term accommodation of citizens. With the support of partners, it is also planned to organize hot meals and involve field kitchens. This helps meet the basic needs of the population during extended utility outages.
Readiness Verification at Command-Staff Exercises
Rescuers tested their readiness to respond to severe weather consequences during command-staff exercises in 2026. In particular, from August 18 to September 23, units practiced operations under martial law conditions amidst prolonged power, heat, and water outages. These exercises made it possible to practice scenarios most likely for the winter period and adjust response plans.
Context: General National Winter Preparation
Earlier, according to RBC-Ukraine, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal stated in the Verkhovna Rada during the Hour of Questions to the Government that this year Ukraine is much better prepared for winter than in previous years. At the same time, it was noted that Kyiv is lagging behind other regions in implementing resilience plans in preparation for the winter period. The SES preparation reported by Kharchenko is part of this overall process of ensuring the resilience of critical infrastructure and population lifesupport.
