Zelensky on road blockades in Kyiv due to blackout: "You cannot repair a crumbling structure"

President Volodymyr Zelensky commented on an incident in the capital when residents blocked one of the roads due to a prolonged power outage. The head of state detailed the situation in an interview with TSN.

Call to the Interior Minister

According to Zelensky, he personally contacted Interior Minister Vyhovskyi to find out what was happening. The minister explained that police were working on the scene because some Kyiv residents had indeed been left without electricity for a considerable period.

«Вчора бачив, люди перекрили одну з доріг у Києві, в столиці. Я дзвонив міністру внутрішніх справ Виговському. Він мені каже: "Ми там ще попрацювали, тому що дійсно частина людей не мали довгий період часу електрику"» ("Yesterday I saw people block one of the roads in Kyiv, in the capital. I called Interior Minister Vyhovskyi. He told me: 'We worked there a bit more because indeed some people had not had electricity for a long period of time'"), the President said.

Shortage of staff at the facility

The main issue highlighted by Zelensky was that there was a shortage of workers at the relevant energy facility to carry out the necessary work.

«Ремонтувати вразвалочку не можна. І молодці поліцейські, спрацювали, вони дуже швидко з’єднались з групами, з електриками. Всіх привели на об’єкт, все запрацювали, і народ розійшовся» ("You cannot repair a crumbling structure. And well done to the police, they acted; they quickly connected with the teams, with the electricians. Everyone was brought to the site, everything started working, and the people dispersed"), the head of state emphasised.

Zelensky added that blocking roads is certainly not the way to solve the problem.