Kyiv prepares backup power for critical infrastructure as resilience plan passes 60%
Kyiv is preparing backup power and protection for critical infrastructure, including water and wastewater services. The city’s water utility has purchased 103 generators, while officials say the broader resilience plan is more than 60% complete and is expected to be finished by December.
Key points
- Kyiv is preparing alternative power sources for critical infrastructure, including water supply and wastewater systems.
- The city is protecting both primary and backup power sources.
- The Verkhovna Rada’s National Security and Defense Council approved Kyiv’s resilience plan on August 5.
- The Kyiv water utility has purchased 103 generators of varying capacities.
- Generators require regular servicing, fuel and breaks in operation.
- Kyiv’s resilience plan is more than 60% complete.
- Work under the plan is expected to finish by December.
Why it matters
The measures aim to prevent disruptions to water supply and other essential services if the city’s infrastructure is attacked. Backup generators provide reserve power, but they need maintenance, fuel and additional generating capacity to operate effectively. A plan more than 60% complete indicates progress, but the work is still ongoing.
What happened
Kyiv is preparing alternative power sources for critical infrastructure, including water supply, wastewater and other essential city services, and is strengthening protection for primary and backup power sources. The Kyiv water utility purchased 103 generators of different capacities, including high-capacity units described as diesel power plants. The city says these generators are insufficient on their own to maintain the required volume of water supply, so additional equipment is planned under the resilience plan. Work is expected to be completed by December.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian reporting focuses on preparations for possible attacks on infrastructure, protection of primary and backup power sources, and concrete generator purchases for the water utility. Authorities report that the resilience plan is more than 60% complete and highlight the substantial fuel costs required to operate backup generators.
Where reporting differs
Estimates of Kyiv’s readiness for winter differ. City authorities said in August 2026 that the city was 50% ready, while other assessments put readiness below 50% or at about one-third.
Background
Kyiv is drawing on experience from previous winters during Russia’s full-scale invasion and preparing for possible attacks on infrastructure. Emergency outages introduced after an attack on the city’s energy infrastructure in August 2026 caused electricity disruptions and reduced water pressure in several districts. Supporting generators consumed more than 300 tonnes of fuel per day last year, and current fuel costs could be nearly three times higher as the generator fleet expands.