Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday ordered the acceleration of electricity imports and the provision of additional equipment from Kyiv's partners as the country battles a state of emergency in its energy sector.
Following a special energy coordination call, Zelenskyy said in a statement on US social media company X that he heard reports on dealing with the aftermath of Russian strikes and on the implementation of decisions to "boost the resilience" of Ukrainian cities and communities.
His remarks come amid a state of emergency announced by Ukraine earlier this week due to extreme weather conditions and Russian strikes last week, notably on Jan. 9, when much of the country's capital Kyiv was left without power.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said half of the capital's apartment buildings, nearly 6,000, lost access to heating, as he appealed to residents to temporarily leave the city. Klitschko said earlier Saturday that about 50 buildings still remain without access.
"The most difficult situation is in Kyiv and the region, Kharkiv and the region, and Zaporizhzhia and the region," Zelenskyy said, noting that there are additional challenges for the settlements of Hostomel, Bucha, and Irpin, all situated in the Kyiv region, following attacks Friday evening.
Zelenskyy said he further instructed authorities to conduct a separate review in Kyiv regarding buildings that still have no access to heating, expressing that there are "discrepancies between city-level and government-level reports even concerning the number of such buildings."
"We need to accelerate as much as possible the increase in electricity imports and the provision of additional equipment from partners. All decisions for this are already in place, and the increase in imports must proceed without delay," he added.
