Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko traded accusations over preparations in the Ukrainian capital following yet another wave of Russian strikes on energy infrastructure. The attacks left parts of the city without electricity and water for hours, while the restoration of central heating has still not been completed everywhere.
Kyiv, home to more than 3 million people, is entering winter with temperatures around freezing. Water supply outages are more frequent than in previous years, while metro services have been periodically disrupted. Traffic on bridges over the Dnipro River has also been affected, as they too have been targeted in attacks.
Zelenskyy pointed to preparations for the heating season
Zelenskyy described the challenges facing Kyiv as “extremely serious” and linked the problems both to Russian strikes and to the actions of the city authorities.
The president had earlier said that Kyiv was lagging behind in implementing measures to ensure energy resilience. The main areas include backup power for water and heating systems, protection of critical infrastructure and the construction of additional capacity.
Klitschko accused the government of delaying action
Less than an hour after Zelenskyy’s statement, Klitschko responded in a video address. He said the government had delayed approving Kyiv’s resilience plan.
“Given the intensity of the enemy attacks, without protecting key facilities with air defence systems, the restoration, stable operation and very existence of these facilities are under serious threat,” Klitschko said.The mayor said the city had begun building a backup heating system. The plan is for it to be completed by the end of 2026 so that it can be used if the central network is damaged.
Residential buildings in Kyiv began being connected to the heating system on November 2. According to the plan, the process should be completed by November 12, provided there are no new breakdowns or damage from attacks.
The dispute between the president and the mayor continues
The exchange of accusations is the latest episode in the long-standing tension between Zelenskyy and Klitschko. The mayor of Kyiv has held office since 2014, while Zelenskyy has been president since 2019. Elections in Ukraine are prohibited during martial law, which is why the two continue to perform their duties.
In an interview with Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne, Klitschko said that his proposals for a meeting with Zelenskyy to discuss the capital’s problems had gone unanswered. He accused the president of using the attacks against the city authorities for political purposes.
Zelenskyy, for his part, said he had offered several former senior officials the position of head of Kyiv’s military administration, but none of them had accepted. According to him, cooperation between the mayor and the representatives appointed by the president is difficult because Klitschko sees these appointments as an attempt to remove him.
Sources: bta.bg, suspilne.media