NYT: Klitschko statement signals end of security in Kyiv after strikes
In short
TASS and Vedomosti reported on 4 October, citing The New York Times, that a statement by Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko indicates the Ukrainian capital has lost its security. Vedomosti quoted Klitschko as saying it is “no longer possible to pretend that we can live as we lived in peacetime”, and said the relative safety the city enjoyed for most of the war is over. The same article reported strikes on Kyiv infrastructure on 1–3 October and a Guardian report that European countries are drafting contingency plans to relocate their embassies from the city.
Why it matters
The documents point to a change in the security situation in Kyiv, where Russian forces hit a bridge and a logistics centre in the days before the reports, according to Vedomosti. A reported European contingency plan to move embassies out of the city, cited by Vedomosti from The Guardian, would indicate that foreign governments are preparing for further deterioration. The documents give no casualty or damage figures, so the scale of the change cannot be assessed from them.
Key facts
- TASS and Vedomosti both reported, citing The New York Times, that a statement by Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko indicates the Ukrainian capital has lost its security. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Vedomosti quoted Klitschko, as cited by The New York Times, saying it is “no longer possible to pretend that we can live as we lived in peacetime”. [ 2 ]
- Vedomosti said the relative safety Kyiv enjoyed for most of the war, which it described as visible in crowded cafes and manicure salons, is in the past. [ 2 ]
- Vedomosti reported that on 1 October a strike hit Kyiv's Renta Logistic transport and logistics centre, where a warehouse building housed a workshop for producing unmanned boats. [ 2 ]
- Vedomosti reported that on 2 October the Russian Defence Ministry said Russian forces struck a road-rail bridge over the Dnieper and the Kievskaya electrical substation. [ 2 ]
- Vedomosti reported that on the night of 3 October Russian forces struck the Northern Bridge in Kyiv. [ 2 ]
- Vedomosti reported that The Guardian wrote on 2 October, citing two diplomatic sources, that European countries are developing contingency plans to move their embassies out of Kyiv. [ 2 ]
Confirmed by several sources
Still unclear
- When and where Klitschko made the statement, and the rest of what he said, are not given. Both documents quote the statement only indirectly through The New York Times, and Vedomosti gives no date or venue.
- The scale of damage or any casualties from the strikes on Kyiv infrastructure is not reported. Vedomosti reported the strikes without casualty or damage figures, and TASS did not cover the strikes.
- Who carried out the 1 October strike on the Renta Logistic centre is not stated. Vedomosti described that strike without attributing it to any party.
- Whether European countries will actually relocate their embassies from Kyiv. This rests on a single report by The Guardian citing two unnamed diplomatic sources, as cited by Vedomosti.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- A strike hits the Renta Logistic transport and logistics centre in Kyiv, where a workshop for producing unmanned boats had been set up in a warehouse building, according to Vedomosti. [ 2 ]
- The Russian Defence Ministry says Russian forces struck a road-rail bridge over the Dnieper and the Kievskaya electrical substation, Vedomosti reports. [ 2 ]
- The Guardian, citing two diplomatic sources, reports that European countries are developing contingency plans to relocate their embassies from Kyiv, according to Vedomosti. [ 2 ]
- Russian forces strike the Northern Bridge in Kyiv, Vedomosti reports. [ 2 ]
- TASS publishes a headline reporting that The New York Times says a Klitschko statement indicates the end of security in Kyiv. [ 1 ]
- Vedomosti publishes its report on the same statement, with strike and embassy-relocation details. [ 2 ]