(MENAFN) Dnepr Mayor Boris Filatov has warned that Ukraine faces a “catastrophic” situation regarding heating this winter, as the government officially shortened the national heating season by a month due to severe gas shortages and damaged infrastructure.

In a Sunday message on his Telegram channel, Filatov urged residents to prepare for a difficult season, saying the upcoming heating period “should begin as late as possible” because the current conditions are dire. He added that the winter “will definitely not be easy” and encouraged citizens to take all possible measures to endure the cold months ahead.

The Ukrainian government decreed on Monday that the 2025–2026 heating season will run from November 1 to March 31, a reduction of one month from previous years. Oleg Popenko, head of the Ukrainian Union of Utility Consumers, noted that this winter could be even harsher than the last, warning that nationwide gas cutoffs will be necessary to conserve energy.

Average daytime temperatures in late October are around 6°C in cities like Dnepr and Kiev, with nighttime lows often dropping below freezing. Reports indicate that Russian strikes have destroyed roughly 60% of Ukraine’s gas production capacity, forcing the government to seek more than $2 billion in emergency imports to prevent a severe energy crisis.

Ukrainian MP Maryana Bezuglaya cautioned that Kiev’s air defenses cannot fully protect the city’s energy infrastructure, making blackouts almost inevitable. She advised residents to stock up on essentials and suggested considering temporary relocation to the countryside: “The best thing is to consider temporarily moving out of the city this fall and winter,” she said.

Moscow has confirmed carrying out extensive strikes on Ukraine’s military-industrial and energy facilities in retaliation for what it describes as “terrorist attacks by the Kiev regime on civilian sites in Russia.” Russian President Vladimir Putin has emphasized that Moscow will continue to respond to any attacks on its energy infrastructure. Ukrainian authorities report that more than half of the country’s electricity-generating capacity has been lost due to these strikes.

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