During a large-scale power outage, a hospital cannot simply stop operating until the electricity comes back on. Surgeries, resuscitation, ventilation, childbirth and intensive care must continue. Therefore, even after an attack on a facility’s energy infrastructure, electricity, water, heat and the ability to protect patients from a repeat attack are all needed simultaneously. Is Kyiv’s authorities’ capable network of medical facilities preparing for the winter that was dubbed the “most frightening” even before it arrived? Read the UNN article.
The capital’s capable network includes 21 medical facilities, including clinical and children’s hospitals, psychiatric and oncology dispensaries, a phthisiopulmonology hospital, the Perinatal Center, as well as the City Center for Reproductive and Perinatal Medicine.
In Kyiv’s Comprehensive Resilience Plan, strengthening the autonomy of healthcare facilities is identified as one of the priorities. City authorities’ representatives have stated that autonomy means not only backup electricity supply, but also reserve sources of water and heat. This should guarantee the uninterrupted provision of medical care.
"The resilience of the healthcare system today means hospitals’ ability to operate continuously under any conditions. We are consistently creating the necessary reserves for this — from autonomous power supply to alternative sources of water and heat. This is an investment in patient safety, the stable work of medical personnel and the capital’s readiness to respond to any challenges," emphasized Tetiana Mostepan, Director of the Kyiv City State Administration’s Department of Health.
On September 11, the Kyiv City State Administration’s Department of Health reported that more than 65% of the facilities in the capable network were already fully autonomous. Readiness is planned to reach 100% by the end of October.
Power supply sources
The main focus is evidently on diesel generators and comprehensive energy storage systems. The city allocated almost UAH 49.6 million for these needs.
Separately, the capital’s medical facilities received 132 diesel generators as humanitarian/charitable aid or purchased them with their own funds.
Medical facilities also use alternative power sources. For example, Kyiv City Clinical Hospital No. 12 installed a 100 kW solar power plant. The hospital also installed 10 battery storage units with a total capacity of 51.2 kWh and two 50 kW inverters.
Particular attention is being paid to facilities that receive patients with polytrauma and injuries. According to the Department of Health, they are already equipped not only with primary but also with additional generators in case the main equipment fails. Evidently, the decision to provide additional generators was made after an incident that occurred at Kyiv City Emergency Hospital in January 2026. After an energy infrastructure facility was hit, the hospital was left without a centralized power supply. A 400 kW generator had been installed at the facility, but it failed to start. Doctors receiving those injured in the enemy attack on the capital had to work with flashlights and portable lighting for some time. Eventually, small mobile generators were connected to the main nodes; later, the State Emergency Service brought in an additional generator, and the main generator was also successfully started. However, this incident demonstrated that the system has vulnerabilities, and when lives are at stake and every minute — or even every second — counts, this can come at an extremely high cost.
Backup water supply
In January 2026, 13 medical facilities in the capable network had wells to ensure an autonomous water supply. One such facility is the City Perinatal Center, which has its own well; in addition, it launched its own pellet boiler house even before the full-scale war began.
To ensure an uninterrupted water supply for the remaining facilities, the city allocated UAH 87 million in May this year.
At the same time, an examination of procurements for well-development works by specific institutions raises doubts as to whether all hospitals will be provided with autonomous water sources by the end of October. For example, Kyiv City Clinical Hospital No. 6 only announced a tender for the purchase of the relevant works on September 17. According to the tender conditions, the works must be completed by December 31 of this year. It should be noted, however, that most institutions announced their tenders significantly earlier.
Heat supply
At the beginning of 2026, the city authorities reported that eight of the capital's healthcare facilities were equipped with autonomous boiler houses, while another 13 facilities could be promptly connected to mobile boiler units.
In the summer of this year, the Kyiv City State Administration reported on a much more extensive backup heat-supply system: at 23 municipal healthcare facilities at 37 addresses, heat-supply systems were reconstructed so that they could be connected to mobile diesel boiler units. Separately, together with the WHO, as part of the Heal Ukraine project, the city worked on installing modular solid-fuel boiler houses for eight healthcare facilities at nine addresses.
After the Russian attack on November 25, 2025, some hospitals lost centralized heating. Kyiv deployed nine mobile boiler units for six healthcare facilities. The boiler units supplied them with heat for approximately one day—until regular heat supply was restored. Earlier, in October, mobile boiler units had supplied five healthcare facilities. Once again, mobile boiler units had to be deployed at the end of December 2025 to heat six hospitals.
At the beginning of 2026, Kyiv reported that the city had a fleet of 69 mobile boiler units that could be promptly connected to hospitals, social institutions, and other critical facilities if the main heating network was damaged. More generally, the city began modernizing the heating systems of institutions, including ensuring the possibility of connecting them to mobile boiler units, in 2022–2023.
Winter will show
The capital's hospitals are entering the new heating season with a greater margin of safety than before: the city is expanding backup generation, equipping wells, and increasing backup heat-supply capacity. Part of this system already had to be tested last winter, when healthcare facilities lost centralized heating and electricity supplies following Russian attacks.
At the same time, preparations are not yet complete. As of September, some hospitals were only carrying out procurements or works necessary for autonomous water and electricity supplies. Against this backdrop, the city authorities aim to bring all facilities in the capable network to full autonomy by the end of October.
Thus, the final readiness of the capital's healthcare system for winter will be determined not by the number of generators, wells, or boiler houses procured. The main test lies ahead—whether, after another attack, every hospital will be able to continue performing operations, maintain the functioning of intensive care and ventilators, deliver babies, and provide patients with water and heat even when external networks are out of operation for an extended period.