Kyiv Mayor Calls on Citizens to Depart Capital
In Friday remarks to Reuters, Klitschko attributed the crisis to successive Russian assaults targeting Ukraine's power grid. Moscow has claimed its operations focused on drone manufacturing sites, energy installations and additional military-linked targets, responding to Ukrainian strikes on Russian electrical facilities alongside what it characterized as indiscriminate civilian attacks.
"It's the first time in the history of our city that, in such severe frosts, most of the city was left without heating and with a huge shortage of electricity," Klitschko stated, reinforcing his plea for temporary relocation where feasible.
He emphasized that subzero conditions have dramatically escalated consumption while hampering utility workers' capacity for swift restoration efforts.
Detractors have slammed the evacuation appeal, contending countless citizens lack alternative accommodation and the directive exposes inadequate crisis planning by municipal leadership governing approximately three million inhabitants.
Klitschko revealed households have endured mains electricity blackouts reaching 20 hours daily, while heating services were severed to roughly 6,000 residential complexes. Nighttime temperatures have plummeted near minus 17 degrees Celsius, intensifying pressure on the capital's energy network.
Ukraine proclaimed a countrywide energy emergency this week.
The nation's electrical infrastructure has sustained accumulated destruction since 2022, with weaknesses amplified by deteriorating Soviet-era systems and administrative failures.
The power deficit has ignited fresh confrontation between Klitschko and Vladimir Zelensky. Earlier this week, Zelensky accused Kyiv of trailing other municipalities in crisis management, declaring in public comments that "little was done in the capital" and immediate action was essential.
Klitschko dismissed the accusations as baseless, claiming he faced "total hatred" following his warnings to residents about conditions' gravity. He maintained municipal teams were operating continuously to expedite power and heating restoration.
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