Blackouts in winter may force Ukrainians to leave cities: Voskoboynik assessed the scale

A mass relocation of Ukrainians from Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, and other large cities to villages due to possible prolonged power outages in winter is not expected.

The president of the All-Ukrainian Association of International Employment Companies, Vasyl Voskoboynik, explained that changing residence does not solve key domestic and economic problems. At the same time, Kyiv is already stockpiling food and water in case of prolonged outages. Voskoboynik shared this information in an interview.

Will Ukrainians relocate from large cities to villages in winter

According to Voskoboynik, some Ukrainians may indeed decide to spend part of the winter in small towns or rural areas. However, he does not anticipate that this scenario will become a nationwide trend.

«This will not be a trend. It will most likely be an exception because even moving to a village will not fundamentally change the situation,» said Voskoboynik.

He explained that if Russia succeeds in inflicting large-scale damage on the Ukrainian energy system, power outages may affect not only megacities. A smaller settlement does not guarantee electricity availability by itself.

Meanwhile, it may be easier to organize a partially autonomous lifestyle in a private house. However, there are also solutions for residents of apartment buildings. For example, one of the capital's homeowners' associations has prepared for blackouts using generators, inverters, and batteries.

What will keep Ukrainians in large cities

Voskoboynik named several factors that make mass relocation to rural areas unlikely. People need to continue working and earning money, children need schools, and families need access to medical care.

«Where can the city of Kyiv, with a population of 3 million, move? Where can Kharkiv, Dnipro, and Zaporizhzhia move? We have no backup country,» he emphasized.

Therefore, moving for the winter, according to Voskoboynik's estimate, may become an individual decision for certain families, but not a mass process. People's actual behavior will depend on the scale of possible attacks, the duration of outages, heating situations, and the ability to stay in their apartments.

The state is also preparing for scenarios of large-scale interruptions in the energy system. Recall that Inkorr previously reported on the national reserve of autonomous generation, which will include mobile power plants, cogeneration units, boilers, and transformers.