In brief

• President Zelensky met with mayors and local leaders from 12 Ukrainian cities to discuss winter readiness.
• Talks covered energy resilience, critical infrastructure protection, targeted aid for residents and local budgets.
• Zelensky called it the first meeting in this format and said such talks will now be held regularly.

Winter preparations on the agenda

President Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting on 13 November with mayors and local leaders from 12 Ukrainian cities, focusing on how communities are preparing for the cold season. According to the presidential office, the talks covered energy resilience, the protection of critical infrastructure and ways to provide targeted support to people who may need it (Гроші для регіонів та виклики зими: президент Зеленський провів зустріч з мером Дніпра Філатовим та очільники інших міст – Suspilne). The preservation of local budgets' capacity to function was also raised (Зеленський провів нараду з мерами про підготовку до зими: тепер обіцяє регулярні зустрічі – Українська правда). Dnipro's mayor, Borys Filatov, took part.

Who attended

The meeting included the mayors of Kharkiv, Dnipro, Uzhhorod, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Cherkasy, Mykolaiv and Vinnytsia, according to Zelensky's social media post (Зеленский начал проводить регулярные встречи с мэрами: обсудили подготовку к зиме – NV) (Зеленський зустрівся з мерами 12 українських міст: говорили про підготовку до зими та захист енергетики – Espreso).

Energy, air defence and security

Zelensky said the discussion covered energy, air defence, internal security threats, communications stability and aid to residents. He stressed that these areas must be protected, restored and maintained, and that participants had openly discussed both current and possible challenges. Preparations for winter are a priority, he said, given Russian strikes on critical, transport and residential infrastructure.

Coordination and information flow

According to Zelensky, the central, regional and local levels of government must coordinate their responses. He said it was essential that accurate, timely information about conditions on the ground reach decision-makers from every region and city so that decisions can be made quickly.

Future meetings

Zelensky described the event as the first meeting in this format and said similar dialogues will now take place regularly.