President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has held a meeting on the operational situation in the region and preparations for the heating season during his working visit to Kharkiv on Friday.

"Today I am in Kharkiv. I held a meeting on the regional situation and heating season preparations," he said on Telegram.

The president heard reports on the defense of the region, in particular in Vovchansk direction, the restoration of damaged energy infrastructure.

Special attention during the meeting, as he said, was paid to providing housing for people displaced from the territories of Kharkiv region, which is being subjected to enemy shelling.

"The entire city and region of Kharkiv deserve our support, gratitude, and respect, as does every Ukrainian community and person who refuses to give in to the enemy and does everything possible to save lives," Zelenskyy said.

The president's press service said that Zelenskyy also instructed Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal to explore the possibility for providing housing for 20,000 internally displaced persons from the territories of Kharkiv region that are subject to constant shelling by the aggressor state of the Russian Federation.

These people are now temporarily accommodated in the dormitories of Kharkiv's higher education institutions. They are ready to give up their housing to the state in order to receive certificates through 'eRecovery' for purchasing new ones in Kharkiv or the region.

During the meeting, Commander of the Kharkiv Operational and Strategic Group Mykhailo Drapatyi reported on the situation in the area of responsibility of this grouping of troops, in particular in the Vovchansk direction. It remains difficult, the press service emphasized.

Head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration Oleh Synehubov informed about a plan developed together with the Cabinet of Ministers to decentralize the heating system in Kharkiv and measures to restore the damaged infrastructure.