Kiev mayor urges residents to leave city

Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko has urged residents to leave the city if they have the opportunity, citing a severe electricity crisis, widespread heating outages and mounting strain on infrastructure as freezing temperatures grip the Ukrainian capital.

Speaking to Reuters on Friday, Klitschko said the shortages followed waves of Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Moscow has said it targeted drone production facilities, energy infrastructure and other military‑related sites in response to Ukrainian strikes on Russian power facilities, as well as what it described as indiscriminate attacks on civilians. 

“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 said, reiterating his appeal for residents who can relocate temporarily to do so. He noted that sub‑zero temperatures had sharply increased demand while limiting the ability of utility crews to carry out rapid repairs. 

Critics have condemned the appeal, arguing that many residents have nowhere else to go and that the call reflects a lack of preparedness by local authorities to manage the crisis in a city of roughly three million people.