Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Facebook that the energy supply situation in the frontline city is particularly difficult and requires a priority approach. He publicly appealed to the leadership of Ukrenergo and First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal to reconsider the approaches to power outages.
According to Terekhov, after the shelling on February 3, about 900 buildings in Kharkiv were left without heat, and at that time a promise was made that in such buildings power outages would last no more than four hours. At the same time, outages lasting 15–19 hours per day were called unacceptable, as for the city this means cold in apartments, stoppage of pumps, risks to water and heat supply systems, and the inability to heat homes.
The mayor stressed that the resilience of Kharkiv residents cannot become a resource for endless experiments with outage schedules, and that frontline cities require a special approach to energy supply. He demands a revision of the duration and principles of applying outage schedules for Kharkiv, the maximum possible reduction of blackout time, as well as a public and honest explanation to people of the logic behind the decisions taken.
Terekhov emphasized that city authorities, municipal services, heating workers, and the water utility are working around the clock to maintain critical infrastructure and assist energy workers so that the city has heat, water, and electricity. According to him, Kharkiv has the right to expect the same responsibility in return, and he himself stands on the side of Kharkiv residents and people in every Ukrainian city who today are paying for the war with their own comfort, peace, and safety.