This winter could perhaps be the hardest since Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country in early 2022, the Ukrainian prime minister told reporters.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that the country’s defence capabilities are the new government’s top priority during a press conference on Tuesday.
“In this area, the key tasks are weapons production, financing and construction of our fortifications,” he said.
As Kyiv prepares for a tough winter of fighting with Moscow troops amid potential pushes further into Ukraine from the east, the construction of an additional line of defences in parts of Ukraine closest to the frontlines has been finished, Shmyhal added.
“The project has been completed, and significant funds have been allocated, about 40 billion hryvnia (€879m) this year, for the creation and construction of the third line of fortifications,” he explained.
Ukraine’s PM said that the first and second lines were built by the armed forces at the expense of the Ministry of Defence budget. The third line with concrete fortifications was built from the state budget with the help of regional military administrations.
Shmyhal also said that weapons production has doubled since 2023.
To prepare for another difficult winter, civilian energy infrastructure is being restored, and the government is working on decentralising the sector, focusing first on the Kharkiv area.
“We have focused on Kharkiv and Kharkiv region because we understand that the Russians have actually destroyed all the thermal power plants around Kharkiv that were holding Kharkiv. So we are bringing mobile boiler houses there, small, one-megawatt boiler houses,” he said.
This winter would be no less difficult than the previous ones, perhaps even the hardest, the prime minister told reporters. According to Shmyhal, 24/7 work was under way to restore civilian and energy infrastructure, bringing in energy equipment from all over the world and restoring capacities that can be restored.
Ukraine plans to get through this winter on domestically produced gas, he added.
Shmyhal’s plans were announced after the biggest government reshuffle in Kyiv since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.
