UKRAINE, KHARKIV OBLAST, Aug 28 — The UNHCR will help residents of the border areas of Kharkiv region prepare for the heating season, reported the Kharkiv regional military administration.

In the spring of 2024, the Russian army attacked Ukrainian energy infrastructure with missiles and drone strikes and, as authorities reported later, destroyed 800 heating facilities all over the country.

March attacks destroyed the power and heating infrastructure in Kharkiv and its region, making it dependent on electricity supply from other regions of Ukraine. 

Kharkiv authorities said that the residents of the frontline areas can apply for the purchase of firewood and replacement of damaged and old windows.

UNHCR’s help is most focused on residents of the Kharkiv region living within a six-mile zone from the border. They can apply to purchase wood for heating and replace old windows with energy-saving ones. The program covers 2,300 homes in total.

“All conditions have been created so that the population of these settlements could receive fuel wood for autumn and winter,” the Kharkiv authorities reported.  

Officials said another program provides warm blankets to internally displaced people (IDPs) living in compact settlements. 

On August 16, Iryna Vereshchuk, Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine, announced that families with children living in the 30-kilometer frontline area will receive $528 in assistance from UNICEF for the winter period.

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  • Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Ukrainian TV that 141 energy generation facilities will be installed in Kharkiv for the heating season, including generation and cogeneration units, and block and modular boilers.