PRESS RELEASE : President held a meeting on the current situation in the Kharkiv region and the recovery of the region from the effects of the war

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 29 May 2022.

A working meeting on the situation in the Kharkiv region and Kharkiv was chaired by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The Head of State heard reports from Head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration Oleg Synegubov, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov, the military command and the leadership of law enforcement agencies in the region.

The Head of the Kharkiv RMA informed the President that currently 31% of the region’s territory is temporarily occupied, 5% has been liberated from Russian invaders.

“We are not yet able to fully inspect some of the liberated settlements, conduct full-fledged demining and begin rebuilding critical infrastructure, as shelling continues. Where we can do it remotely – we do it,” said Oleg Synegubov.

According to him, the actions of the Russian army led to the destruction of 2,229 high-rise buildings, of which 225 were completely destroyed. In Kharkiv, the northern and eastern districts of the city suffered the most damage and destruction – 30.2% of the total housing stock.

During the working trip, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, among other things, inspected the destroyed residential buildings in the Saltivka district of Kharkiv.

During the meeting, the President proposed to analyze the feasibility of restoring damaged panel buildings, in particular, taking into account the program of thermal modernization of housing.

“If this is already the case with the war, then it is worth considering the possibility of removing panel buildings across the country, especially in the destroyed areas,” he said.

According to the Head of State, this is also an opportunity to modernize the country and cities, to build modern housing.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that new houses must be built with bomb shelters.

“We have to find funds, credit lines. The state must ensure this in terms of guarantees, and the leaders of cities and regions must find great projects and money,” said the President.

In addition, during the trip, Volodymyr Zelenskyy inspected the administrative buildings of Kharkiv, which were destroyed by Russian missiles.