Koretsky says Ukraine is better prepared for winter than last year, warns strikes will continue
Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky said in a national telethon interview on 27 September that Ukraine is entering the winter better prepared than it was a year ago, citing new generating capacity, hardened critical infrastructure, additional backup power supplies and larger equipment reserves and repair crews. He warned that Russia has improved its strike capabilities, accumulating ballistic and cruise missiles and reactive Shahed drones for winter attacks, and said the season "will definitely not be easy." Ukraine has asked European partners to provide emergency services and rescuers in case of need, and is scaling up domestic production of interceptor drones.
Key points
- Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky said on 27 September that Ukraine is better prepared for winter than last year.
- More generating capacity was built this year, and more critical-infrastructure facilities have additional backup power, Koretsky said.
- Reserves of equipment, spare parts, and the number of repair crews are larger than before the previous winter.
- Koretsky warned that Russia has improved its strike capabilities, stockpiling ballistic and cruise missiles and using reactive Shahed drones.
- He said the coming winter "will definitely not be easy" and that Ukraine has no option but to endure.
- Ukraine has appealed to European partners to provide emergency services — rescuers with equipment and personnel — if needed.
- Ukraine is scaling up domestic production of interceptor drones and the Cabinet of Ministers is simplifying conditions for manufacturers.
Why it matters
Winter is the period of greatest strain on Ukraine's energy system, and Russian strikes on power, heat and water infrastructure have repeatedly caused large-scale outages in previous winters. The prime minister's assessment signals whether Ukraine's defensive preparations — generation, backup power, repair capacity and infrastructure protection — are keeping pace with Russia's evolving strike capabilities. His appeal to European emergency services frames the coming months as a test of both domestic resilience and international support.
What happened
Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky gave an interview to the "Yedyni Novyny" (United News) national telethon on Sunday, 27 September, in which he assessed Ukraine's readiness for the coming winter. He said Ukraine was better prepared than it had been a year earlier, pointing to more generating capacity built since the previous winter, stronger protection of critical-infrastructure elements, and a larger number of facilities equipped with additional backup power supplies. Reserves of equipment and spare parts, as well as the number of repair crews and pieces of repair machinery, have also been increased, according to Koretsky. He described the government's approved "Resilience Plans" as over-ambitious, saying this had nevertheless allowed the energy system to be significantly strengthened even where the plans were not fully implemented.
At the same time, Koretsky warned that Russia had improved its strike capabilities. He said Moscow was accumulating ballistic and cruise missiles for winter attacks and using reactive Shahed-type drones. He cautioned that the upcoming winter "will definitely not be easy" and that Ukraine had no option but to endure. Ukraine has appealed to European partners to provide their emergency services — rescuers together with equipment and personnel — in case of need, and the government is scaling up domestic production of interceptor drones, with the Cabinet of Ministers simplifying conditions for manufacturers and increasing financial support through credit instruments.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
All of the supplied sources are Ukrainian, and they uniformly centre Prime Minister Koretsky's optimistic-yet-cautious assessment of winter preparedness. The coverage emphasises concrete measures already taken: new generating capacity, backup power for critical facilities, hardened infrastructure, and expanded equipment reserves and repair crews. The outlets also stress Ukraine's own production of interceptor drones and government efforts to cut bureaucracy for manufacturers, framing resilience as a domestically driven effort. The accompanying context — Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal's account of Russian strike plans, UNDP Administrator Alexander De Croo's warning of a humanitarian risk, and President Zelensky's diplomacy before winter — is consistently paired with Koretsky's interview, presenting both the threat picture and the Ukrainian response side by side.
Background
Earlier in September, Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said Ukraine had received two documents detailing Russian preparations for winter strikes on the energy sector, including which facilities would be targeted and with what types and quantities of weapons, with separate plans for major cities including Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa. UNDP Administrator Alexander De Croo warned that Ukraine faces the "hardest winter" since the start of the full-scale invasion and that continued mass attacks on energy could become a humanitarian catastrophe. On 22 September, President Zelensky met US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and expressed hope that the war could be ended before winter.