Is it possible to prepare the city of Izium for the heating season now?

As is known, Izium is a frontline city that constantly suffers from Russian shelling, making preparation for the heating season problematic. 

Firstly, due to ongoing shelling, all power plants have been destroyed, and scheduled and emergency power outages have been implemented. This is also happening because there isn't enough electricity supply, and energy savings measures are being enforced across Ukraine.

 Employees of the Izium heat network enterprise have already started repairing the technical pipelines of the heating plants. 

"These measures are aimed at ensuring stable and uninterrupted heat supply during the autumn-winter period," noted the military administration. The electrical networks are all damaged; they are in very poor condition and cannot be quickly repaired, resulting in problems with electricity supply. Therefore, all critical facilities are equipped with generators. 

Secondly, gas heating plants are barely operational; they are functional but operate in a decentralized mode under increased risk due to constant Russian shelling. The centralized heating system of the city has undergone fundamental changes after deoccupation. For instance, the largest central gas heating plant in the IOMZ area, which previously heated almost the entire city center, was completely destroyed by the Russians (only a pit remains in its place). Instead of restoring this massive facility, the authorities changed the approach by replacing it with a network of smaller local modular heating plants. 

The stationary gas heating plants that survived the occupation or suffered minor damage have been overhauled by the Izium communal heat network company. They have successfully completed previous heating seasons and are undergoing scheduled maintenance before winter. 

Thirdly, there is a logistics problem. Since the city is located very close to the front line (30 km), there are difficulties with fuel supply. Suppliers and contractors are reluctant to go to Izium due to the threat of drone attacks, complicating the procurement of pellets for modular alternatives to gas heating plants. 

"I clearly understand that this winter could be even more challenging," said Serhiy Koretsky before his appointment as Prime Minister on July 16 in the Verkhovna Rada. "Therefore, we must be united and decisive to protect people and ensure the functioning of the state’s life support systems." 

It is unlikely that this question can be answered unequivocally. It is not just a matter of how many energy and heat-generating facilities have been repaired in Ukraine, how much gas has been pumped into underground storage, and how much coal has been accumulated at thermal power plants and heat power stations. Additionally, much will depend on how intense Russian shelling will be, which regions and facilities the aggressor will focus its attacks on, and how well Ukrainian air defense will be supported. 

The conclusion that can be drawn from this situation is that, unfortunately, the city of Izium cannot currently be prepared for the heating season while the war is ongoing. As long as the shelling continues, there will be difficulties with fuel supply and the repair of energy supply, gas supply, and water supply facilities.

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