Klychko: Kyiv shifts to survival mode amid escalating shelling

Capital operates in survival mode

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klychko announced that the city is transitioning to a so-called "survival mode". This decision is driven by a significant intensification of Russian attacks, which continue ahead of the winter period. The head of the capital made this statement in an interview with the French news agency AFP.

«З кожним днем надходять нові повідомлення про зруйновані будівлі, поранених або трагічно загиблих людей, оскільки обстріл нашого міста посилюється. Сьогодні головне – вижити» (With each day, new reports arrive of destroyed buildings, injured or tragically killed people, as the shelling of our city intensifies. Today, the main thing is to survive), Klychko emphasised.

Proposal for temporary departure

The head of the Kyiv City State Administration appealed to Kyiv residents who have friends or relatives outside the city, asking them to consider the possibility of a temporary move. This is a repetition of an initiative that sparked a sharp public reaction last year. However, the mayor stressed that he would never call for a full evacuation of Kyiv.

«Це мета Путіна... Найкращий сценарій для Путіна – це те, щоб ми всі поїхали й віддали йому наші порожні міста та нашу країну» (This is Putin's goal... The best scenario for Putin is for us all to leave and hand him our empty cities and our country), Vitali Klychko explained.

Risks and government responsibility

The mayor also expressed concern regarding the effectiveness of defence. «Як би добре ми не готувалися, якщо протиповітряна оборона не спрацює, ми можемо опинитися в найгіршому сценарії» (No matter how well we prepare, if the air defence fails to work, we may find ourselves in the worst-case scenario), he added. Klychko placed part of the responsibility for existing shortcomings in the defence system on the central government.