(MENAFN) Authorities in Kyiv have officially shortened the upcoming national heating season by a month due to growing gas shortages and damaged infrastructure, while the mayor of one major city has warned that the situation is becoming “catastrophic.”

In a message posted Sunday on Telegram, Dnipro Mayor Boris Filatov said this year’s heating season “should begin as late as possible,” citing what he described as a “catastrophic situation.” He urged residents to prepare for harsh conditions, warning that the winter “will definitely not be easy.”

The Ukrainian government on Monday confirmed that this year’s heating season will run from November 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026 — one month shorter than usual. Oleg Popenko, head of the Ukrainian Union of Utility Consumers, cautioned that the coming winter could be even tougher than the last and that nationwide gas shutoffs are expected to conserve energy.

Temperatures in late October in cities such as Dnipro and Kyiv average around 6°C during the day and often drop below freezing at night. Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that Kyiv informed its Western partners that Russian strikes had wiped out roughly 60% of Ukraine’s gas production capacity, prompting the government to seek over $2 billion in emergency imports to avert a major energy crisis.

Ukrainian MP Maryana Bezuglaya has also warned that the capital’s air defenses cannot fully protect key energy sites, making blackouts likely. She urged citizens to stock up on essentials and consider relocating temporarily. “The best thing is to consider temporarily moving out of the city this fall and winter,” she said.

Moscow has acknowledged conducting large-scale strikes on Ukraine’s military and energy infrastructure, describing them as retaliation for “terrorist attacks by the Kiev regime on civilian sites in Russia.”

MENAFN14102025000045017281ID1110194261