Igor Terekhov met with the new head of the IOM in Ukraine

10 september 2025 19:19 International cooperation

Today, September 10, Mayor Igor Terekhov met with Robert Turner, head of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) office in Ukraine.

Maksym Sydorov, head of the IOM office in Kharkiv, also took part in the meeting. The parties discussed areas of future cooperation, including preparing the city for winter, supporting internally displaced persons, humanitarian initiatives, and ensuring energy stability in Kharkiv.

Igor Terekhov thanked the IOM representatives for the assistance already provided, in particular for the cogeneration equipment. According to the mayor, in the context of regular enemy attacks and the destruction of critical infrastructure, preparing for winter is one of the main challenges for the city.

“Recently, the aggressor destroyed the boiler room that provided heat to the homes of tens of thousands of city residents. There were winters when we restarted the heating system up to eight times per season. This is an unprecedented case for the whole world. Therefore, the main thing now is to maintain the energy system and prepare for the cold weather,” the mayor emphasized.

He also expressed his gratitude for the assistance in restoring the hospital and stressed the importance of preserving medical infrastructure in wartime.

Robert Turner noted that Kharkiv was the first city he visited after his appointment. According to him, this underscores the importance of the region for the IOM. The organization is currently implementing a pilot project to provide non-food items to displaced persons who have arrived in Kharkiv in recent months, and is ready to expand this activity, particularly in the areas of repairing damaged housing for IDPs and developing autonomous energy sources.

At the end of the meeting, the parties agreed to coordinate their efforts in identifying the city's basic needs and agreeing on humanitarian aid priorities.

“In areas where we have experience - housing, basic services, autonomous solutions - we can be very effective. We will approach donors with specific requests for support for the needs you have outlined,” Robert Turner concluded.

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