Winter is coming: how to set up invincibility points in communities?

What is the problem?

Last winter was a great test for Ukrainians. Since the beginning of the cold season, the Russians have carried out 15 massive missile attacks and 18 drone attacks on energy facilities in Ukraine. As a result, more than 50 percent of the energy infrastructure was damaged — literally every thermal power plant was hit, and there was also a lot of destruction and damage at hydroelectric power stations.

As Nataliia Gumenyuk, a spokeswoman for the Operational Command South of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, noted on the air of the national telethon, it must be understood that the enemy will not give up shelling of critical infrastructure this heating season. For this, Russia is stockpiling missiles, including sea-based ones.

Indeed, on the night of September 21, for the first time after a long break, the Russian army launched a massive attack on the Ukrainian energy infrastructure. 38 out of 44 cruise missiles launched over Ukraine were shot down, but during the attack, the energy infrastructure in Rivne was damaged, and some residents were temporarily left without electricity. Temporary power outages occurred in several regions of Ukraine.

On October 2, the enemy attacked the warehouses of DTEK, a private investor in the energy industry of Ukraine, in the Dnipropetrovsk region — cables, transformers, disconnectors, and other equipment were damaged.

What is the solution?

"There is no need to be afraid and panic. We are prepared because we have already experienced such a period and know a lot about these attacks. You just have to be alert and listen to the air raid alerts," says Gumenyuk.

This year, the sky over Ukraine became better protected by air defense systems, and the energy industry somewhat "adapted" to Russian missile attacks. However, the threat of new large-scale attacks on critical infrastructure remains, so Ukrainians must be prepared for any scenario.

To help Ukrainians persevere, the U-LEAD with Europe Program published a guide for communities on creating, arranging, and operating points of invincibility. As noted, the purpose of the functioning of points of invincibility is an early response to emergencies, in particular, providing assistance to the population in case of critical problems with energy and heating and creating conditions for the temporary stay of the people in the event of a violation of normal living conditions — the absence of drinking water supply, drainage, electricity, gas, and heat supply, mobile communications.

The practical manual instructions step-by-step describe the process of organizing points of invincibility from the point of view of Ukrainian legislation. In the end, there are examples of a solution document that will be useful to managers in the field.

How does it work?

Points of invincibility, which are created by local self-government bodies, are, as a rule, stationary points that are deployed in communally owned premises. The basis for their creation is Part 2 of Article 19 of the Civil Protection Code of Ukraine, Article 361 of the law of Ukraine on local self-government in Ukraine.

To organize the activities of points of invincibility, the U-LEAD with Europe program recommends that local self-government bodies, communal institutions and enterprises take the following actions:

1. The Commission on Technogenic and Environmental Safety and Emergency Situations of the local council develops proposals and plans for basic civil protection measures for the year. It plans for responding to emergencies in the part of the set of tasks regarding the deployment and operation of points of invincibility.

2. The Executive Committee of the local council approves changes to the plans of the main civil protection measures.

3. Based on the proposals of the executive body (department, sector, etc.) on issues of civil protection of the local council, the local commission on man-made and ecological safety and emergencies calculates the need for the number of points of invincibility based on indicators of population size, accessibility, needs of low-mobility population groups. It determines objects where it is planned to arrange points of invincibility.

4. Based on the decisions of the commission, the executive committee of the local council approves a list of points of invincibility, which includes information on:

• object area;

• the number of persons who can be in the facility at the same time;

• availability of autonomous heating and an alternative source of energy supply, fire alarm;

• the possibility of access for less mobile population groups, etc.;

• as well as the work schedule of the invincibility point.

5. The order of use of premises of a communal form of ownership, in which the relevant points of invincibility can be deployed, is determined by the body in whose management this property is located.

6. The executive committee approves the list of communally owned objects, in the premises of which the points can be opened, the plan of measures to organize their work, and determines the work schedule. The list of activities may include:

• Examination of the specified points of invincibility and requirements for their material and technical arrangement and proper sanitary condition;

• Provision of invincibility points with the necessary number of places to stay, generators, mobile communication, and Internet, radio, and first-aid kits, as well as dishes, water, and food;

• Development of duty schedules of responsible persons and confirmation of relevant services for the life support of points of invincibility, in particular, of a security nature;

• Placement of information leaflets and installation of traffic direction indicators to points of inviolability;

• In the case of abnormally low temperatures, the work of social patrols is foreseen, and in cases of frostbite and injuries — the provision of first aid, the calling of ambulance teams, and the delivery of victims to hospitals.

The issue of financing and logistical support of points of invincibility is decided by the executive body, whose powers include the provision of civil protection (the main manager of funds).

U-LEAD recommends providing for the points of invincibility at the expense of the material reserve, which can be combined with the first and second financing methods. At the same time, it is necessary to comply with the norms of ensuring functioning and writing off stocks. If it is necessary to make purchases for points of invincibility, then such purchases are recommended to be made by concluding a direct contract.

The main purpose of invincibility points is to allow people to keep warm, charge gadgets, and feel safe.

Priority in creating such points should be given to premises that can ensure the simultaneous stay of many people (schools, parking lots, basements of high-rise buildings, clubs). At the same time, one should consider the use of the premises for several months in conditions of a possible blackout.

In local self-government bodies, communal enterprises, institutions, and organizations, in which there are points of invincibility, the employer can involve employees in the work if there is a need for this. To make the load uniform, such engagement must be variable. U-LEAD emphasizes that legal norms and positions must be considered when recruiting employees.

According to the letter of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy of Ukraine on shifting at enterprises and institutions, the shift consists of the employee's obligation to be at the workplace designated by the employer to resolve urgent issues not related to the employee's work duties, but as well as the transfer of information, for example, to emergency services, or about some other household needs — to the persons responsible for this. At the same time, it is worth paying attention that the duty officers should not perform the duties of checking passes at the entrance and exit from the premises, the responsibilities of guards, receiving mail, or cleaning the premises.

The employer approves the shift schedule in agreement with the trade union body. The procedure for engaging employees on duty must be defined in the collective contract in compliance with the norms and guarantees established by the current legislation.

Therefore, if the invincibility point is located, for example, on a cultural institution's premises, then this institution's employees can be involved in the shift.

Also, in communities where a local fire brigade has been established, it is possible to engage its employees on duty. As for other legal mechanisms that can be used to ensure the functioning of points of invincibility, it can be the involvement of employees of the utility company under their work duties (guards, cleaners, premises heaters, etc.), including the performance of socially useful works (order approved by the relevant resolution).

In addition, local self-government bodies can involve volunteers to support the activities of invincibility points and carry out certain activities from non-governmental organizations (various trainings, master classes, etc.).

Areas of involvement of volunteers:

• coordination of the movement of people and organization of order around points of invincibility;
• informing people about the algorithm of actions and surveys about problems;
• small care (make tea, give a blanket, etc.);
• psychological state support;
• child care;
• help with the accounting of humanitarian aid in the case of their issuance at the invincibility point.

To organize effective work with volunteers, local self-government bodies have to:

• hold a coordination meeting with non-profit organizations or institutions that have experience in attracting volunteers;
• determine specific tasks that volunteers can participate in;
• carry out their accounting and, if necessary, conclude agreements on the implementation of volunteer activities;
• draw up a shift schedule, conduct briefings, and provide contacts of responsible persons by direction.

Information about invincibility points should be disseminated immediately after creation and opening. Informational materials must contain:

• complete and reliable information about the mode of operation (around the clock or according to the schedule);
• available opportunities (Internet, water supply, electricity supply, etc.).

You can spread information about points of invincibility as follows:

• Place announcements on information boards near the entrances or in the entrances of buildings, on community billboards;
• Place information leaflets in trade establishments, hospitals, schools, cultural institutions, etc.;
• To send information to organizations, enterprises, and institutions working in the territory of the community about the work and locations of points of invincibility to distribute this information among employees;
• Distribute information leaflets. This can be done by volunteers, social workers, doctors, teachers, employees of cultural institutions;
• Inform representatives of self-organization bodies of the population;
• Post information on the community website, social networks, messengers;
• Post information through local radio and television;
• To inform the employees of the National Police and the State Emergency Service employees so that they can provide such information to the community residents during their service.

At the same time, it is necessary to combine several ways of disseminating information and understanding the limitations of informing using the site, messengers, and social networks due to power and communication outages.

Even more useful solutions!

In Mykolaiv and the region, where all 402 points of invincibility were brought out of the sleeping regime from October 1, they decided to make their addresses secret. This was reported by Oksana Yelchiyeva, director of the Department of Social Protection of the Population of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration. According to her, it is too dangerous to place all addresses on one resource in today's conditions, so they chose another way of informing the population — through community heads.

Other communities of Ukraine can adopt the experience of the Mykolaiv region. In general, community leaders need to keep in touch with colleagues and share experiences — this is how joint, even more effective solutions are developed to help communities face the winter and repel possible enemy attacks on the power system.