Kyiv on the Brink: Three Days to Evacuate as Shelling Threatens the Capital’s Power Plants

Rising Danger in Kyiv: Escalating Russian Strikes on Thermal Infrastructure Threaten a Man-Made Disaster for Residents

This was announced by the director of the Energy Research Center, Oleksandr Kharchenko, reports the Telegraph.

According to the expert, if Kyiv’s CHP (Combined Heat and Power) plants are shut down and not restored within three days while temperatures drop to minus 10°C or lower, local authorities should announce the draining of water from buildings and the evacuation of residents.

“If the boilers at CHPP-5 or CHPP-6 are destroyed, and there is no prospect of them being operational within three days at minus 10°C, then this constitutes a man-made disaster,” explained Kharchenko.

He added that, although Ukraine has sufficient gas to supply the regions, the main problem is the Russian attacks on thermal power facilities, the process of restoring them, and ensuring alternative sources of heat for the population.

The expert emphasized the importance of having a prepared action plan in case of prolonged heat supply interruptions.

“The city authorities should plan exactly what to do and how to switch the heating system so that, even with reduced temperatures, buildings do not freeze. If possible, mobile boiler rooms should also be kept in reserve,” Kharchenko said.

At the same time, he stressed the need to develop mechanisms to “rescue” building heating systems in advance.

“That is, how will the water be physically drained from the systems? It is easier to drain the water and then refill the systems than to restore a destroyed one. If water remains in the pipes and freezes, it will simply rupture them,” noted the director of the Center.

It was previously reported that the Russian army had begun destroying energy regions in Ukraine, using scorched earth tactics.

By the way, the Russian army has changed the tactics of strikes on the Ukrainian energy system, focusing on attacks on individual facilities in specific regions.

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