A mayor's big fight: Keeping 3 million people in Kyiv over winter

KYIV — Kyiv’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko has been successful pugnacious corners earlier arsenic a heavyweight prizefighter, but present he’s successful the bout of his beingness preparing the metropolis to endure a freezing wintertime nether Russian attack.

Russia “wants Ukraine without Ukrainians,” helium told POLITICO successful an exclusive interrogation astatine his Kyiv metropolis hallway office, adding that his compatriots indispensable resist. “They privation to frost us, destruct our electricity, our heating, our generators.

“They are doing everything to determination Ukrainians away, but these [are] our homes, our cities and we don't privation to leave,” helium added.

Russia's bombardments person ramped up fears of a caller warfare exile question into occidental Ukraine and the EU, but Klitschko insisted that morale was holding up successful the capital. That said, helium besides stressed his request for caller aerial defence batteries, which could see the Patriot strategy from the U.S.

Klitschko clarified remarks helium and different Ukrainian officials made earlier this month, emphasizing helium doesn’t privation to spot immoderate of Kyiv’s much than 3 cardinal residents leaving oregon fleeing. Officials including Roman Tkachuk, manager of information for the Kyiv municipal government, raised the imaginable of a wide evacuation successful the lawsuit of a complete blackout. He aboriginal retracted his remarks.  

At worst, if Ukraine’s superior is near without immoderate vigor acknowledgment to Russian airstrikes targeting the powerfulness grid and “if we can’t present h2o and electricity,” past “I volition inquire radical to look into the anticipation of moving to houses successful villages and districts astir Kyiv wherever they tin person h2o and warmth,” helium said.

That’s Klitschko's worst-case script and he’s urging the city’s residents that, if they don’t privation to leave, they “have to beryllium prepared” and they request to guarantee they person capable drinking h2o stored and batteries to complaint compartment phones and different electrical equipment.

Klitschko explained his wintertime plans successful his bureau 9 floors supra Khreshchatyk, Kyiv’s main thoroughfare wherever 8 years agone helium joined the alleged Maidan protests that led to the toppling of Viktor Yanukovych, Moscow’s satrap successful Ukraine. “That was a antithetic world,” helium said.

Dressed successful camouflage greenish with assemblage armor propped up successful a country successful an bureau afloat of boxing memorabilia and models for aboriginal metropolis gathering projects, Klitschko said Kyiv has been preparing a 1000 centers — chiefly schools and pre-schools — to structure residents for the worst of times. They person bought wood-burning stoves and generators to vigor the shelters, though schools were picked due to the fact that immoderate already person autarkic vigor sources.

And food, h2o and aesculapian supplies are besides being stored. The metropolis has already mislaid astir fractional of its vigor capableness from the Russian rocket strikes, and districts are enduring pre-planned rolling outages. Most areas person nary thoroughfare lighting — portion of an effort to trim vigor needs.   

Klitschko reels disconnected a database of items Kyiv needs from Ukraine’s Western allies to thrust retired the winter: generators, sleeping bags, lukewarm clothing, mattresses.

But, supra all, helium stresses Ukraine needs much air-defense systems to interdict afloat its skies and to forestall immoderate missiles oregon drones from getting through. “We person to support the entity supra our heads,” helium said.

He labels Russia’s zeroing successful connected Ukraine’s powerfulness grid an enactment of terror. In Kyiv, the strikes person besides been connected the humanities halfway “close to our main assemblage and kindergarten playgrounds,” helium fumed.

“And that's wherefore we request close present to support [the] entity supra the caput of our citizens and that's wherefore we request [more] air-defense systems immediately,” helium said. Asked if that would see the U.S. Patriot system, helium said, “Yes, of course; we would beryllium precise happy.”

As helium grabbed a hasty luncheon — a azygous cocoa candy barroom — helium emphasized again what helium sees arsenic the Russian goal: “They privation radical to beryllium depressed and flee. And you cognize what’s interesting? Nobody is leaving. They aren’t achieving their goals. After the rocket attacks, radical aren’t depressed, they’re aggravated and acceptable to fight.”