"Points of Invincibility" (Ukrainian: «Пункт незламності»|"Punkt nezlamnosti") is a project of the Ukrainian authorities, which was initiated in November 2022 against the background of massive shelling of critical infrastructure by Russia during the Russian-Ukrainian war. Unbreakable points are places where heat, water, electricity, mobile communication, etc. are provided.
Due to massive strikes on critical infrastructure, electricity, water, heating and communication have been missing for a long time in many cities of Ukraine. The unbreakable point is a place where heat, water, electricity, mobile communication, internet, a place to rest, first aid kits and provisions for mothers and children are provided.[1]
Back in the second half of October, the Office of the President began working on the deployment of heating points in case of power outages. Initially, a network of 17,000 ordinary heating points was planned, but a week before the November 23 rocket attack, the authorities decided that the "points of invincibility" should be equipped with generators; at the time of the start of the project with generators there were 4.8 thousand points.[2]
According to the Deputy Head of the Office of the President Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the Cabinet of Ministers officially adopted the decision on the "points of invincibility" under the label "secret". In mid-November, online meetings of high-ranking officials with local authorities regarding the deployment of the network began. The first of points of invincibility began work on Svobody Square in Kherson on November 18, 2022, a week after the liberation of the city from the Russians.[3] On November 22, 2022, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the deployment of the project throughout Ukraine.[4]
It works in all (controlled) regional and district administrations, at schools, buildings of the State Emergency Service, etc.[5] From 40 to 500 people can be in a point at the same time; the stay is unlimited.[6] Completing and functioning of the points is carried out taking into account the available resources of executive power bodies and local self-government bodies.[7] The initiative was joined by business, in particular, catering establishments, which place unbreakable points.[8] As of November 24, 2022, more than 4,300 points of invincibility were deployed in Ukraine.[9]
Points of invincibility in Kherson were visited by UN representatives,[10] in Kyiv — the ambassadors of the G7 countries.[11] According to a worker Minister of Internal Affairs, Denys Monastyrskyi, the minimum cost of a point is 17,000 euros.[12]