Kyiv will begin connecting residential buildings to heating from 2 November. Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced this on 30 October.
He recalled that the social sector began being connected to heating as early as 16 October. At the request of managers, 50% of social institutions have now been connected: 402 nurseries, 85 schools, and 157 medical facilities.
“It takes up to a week to start up Kyiv’s centralised heat supply system, one of the largest in Europe (with heating networks stretching about 3,000 km). That is why the capital decided to start the heating season in the residential sector a few days before a sharp drop in temperatures,” Klitschko said.
Typically, the heating season in Ukrainian cities begins when the average daily temperature stays below +8°C for three days. Because of Russian strikes, the heating season has been under threat year after year during the full-scale war. Russia deliberately attacks the energy sector, seeking to leave Ukrainians without heating during freezing weather.