Kyiv mayor Klitschko tells residents to consider leaving the city temporarily
In short
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko told AFP that residents with friends or relatives outside the Ukrainian capital should consider temporarily leaving the city, saying "today it is about survival". He said he would not call for a full evacuation, and that the city is preparing backup heating systems and stocking fuel, food and drinking water for winter.
Read the full story 2 min read
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said residents of the Ukrainian capital who have friends or relatives outside the city should consider temporarily leaving, in an interview with AFP reported on October 8 by Meduza and RIA Novosti. "Every day there are new reports of destroyed buildings, of injured and dead – the shelling of our city is intensifying. Today it is about survival," Meduza quoted him as saying. TASS reported that the mayor advised residents to leave for the winter and said a water supply crisis could intensify. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Klitschko said he would never call for a full evacuation of the city. "That is Putin's goal. The best scenario for him is for all of us to leave and hand him our empty cities and the whole country," Meduza quoted him as saying. RIA Novosti, citing AFP, wrote that Klitschko said there was no question of evacuating Kyiv. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Klitschko said Kyiv is preparing backup heating systems for the winter and stocking fuel, food and drinking water. According to Meduza, he added that even proper preparation does not rule out a bad scenario if air defences cannot repel the attacks. Outlets differed in how they characterised his appeal: Meduza said he advised and suggested residents consider leaving, while RIA Novosti wrote that he urged them to leave. [ 1 , 2 ]
Meduza reported that Russia began intensifying attacks on Kyiv in September, with 13 residents killed and more than 160 injured in daily attacks between September 22 and 28 alone. In early October, it said, Russian forces began striking bridges across the Dnipro, among Kyiv's most important transport arteries, which had not previously been attacked. Meduza also cited Volodymyr Zelensky as saying Putin had ordered Russian commanders to abandon the rules of war in air strikes on Ukraine. RIA Novosti later ran a headline saying Klitschko had spoken out sharply against Zelensky with the words "It's poison", without further detail in the available text. [ 1 , 5 ]
Why it matters
The remarks from the mayor of Ukraine's capital came as, according to Meduza, Russian attacks on Kyiv intensified from September and in early October began targeting bridges across the Dnipro. Klitschko said even proper preparation could not rule out a bad scenario if air defences fail to repel attacks, and TASS reported that a water supply crisis could worsen.
Key facts
- Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said residents with friends or relatives outside the capital should consider temporarily leaving the city, in an interview with AFP. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Klitschko said he would not call for or announce a full evacuation of the city. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Klitschko said "today it is about survival". [ 1 , 3 ]
- Kyiv is preparing backup heating systems and stocking fuel, food and drinking water, Klitschko said. [ 1 , 2 ]
- TASS reported that a water supply crisis in Kyiv could intensify. [ 3 ]
- Meduza reported that 13 Kyiv residents were killed and more than 160 injured in daily attacks between September 22 and 28. [ 1 ]
- According to Meduza, Russian forces began striking bridges across the Dnipro in Kyiv in early October, which had not been attacked before. [ 1 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Klitschko told AFP that residents with friends or relatives outside Kyiv should consider leaving temporarily. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Klitschko said there would be no full evacuation of Kyiv. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Kyiv is stocking fuel, food and water and developing backup heating systems. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Klitschko said the question today is one of survival. [ 1 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- How strongly Klitschko framed his call to leave. Meduza reported that he advised and suggested residents consider leaving, while RIA Novosti wrote that he urged them to leave and TASS said he advised leaving for the winter.
- A RIA Novosti headline said Klitschko spoke out sharply against Zelensky with the words "It's poison". Only the headline is available, with no text explaining what was said or whether it came from the same interview.
- Zelensky's statement that Putin ordered Russian commanders to abandon the rules of war in air strikes on Ukraine. Reported only by Meduza as Zelensky's claim.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Meduza reports Klitschko's AFP interview advising residents to consider leaving Kyiv temporarily. [ 1 ]
- RIA Novosti reports that Klitschko urged residents to leave the city temporarily. [ 2 ]
- TASS reports the mayor advised residents to leave for the winter but will not announce a full evacuation. [ 3 ]
- RIA Novosti publishes a headline on Klitschko speaking about survival. [ 4 ]
- RIA Novosti publishes a headline saying Klitschko spoke out sharply against Zelensky. [ 5 ]