TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Mayor Kyiv Vitali Klitschko, Wednesday December 7, 2022, warned of a possible “doomsday” scenario for the Ukrainian capital this winter if Russian airstrikes on infrastructure continue. Klitschko said that while people don’t need to evacuate now, they must be ready to do so.
“kyiv risks losing electricity, water and heating. An apocalypse can happen, like in Hollywood movies where staying at home is impossible due to low temperatures. But we are fighting and doing everything we can to make sure that doesn’t happen. ” Klitschko told Reuters in an interview.
Klitschko says Kyiv’s 152 civilians have been killed and 678 buildings destroyed since the Russian invasion began on February 24, 2022, but the city faces new woes Winter it is because Russia is constantly bombarding the Ukrainian power grid with missiles.
Klitschko said the bleak picture was that Kyiv lacked shelter warm enough to accommodate its 3.6 million people in the event of a blackout and that people would have to be prepared to evacuate if the situation worsened. Nearly 500 autonomous heating points have been set up, but for a city of 3 million inhabitants, 500 heating points are clearly lacking.
Klitschko describes the future of Kyiv, a city over 1,500 years old. He sketched out a possible scenario in which it could be left without central heating at a time when temperatures could drop to minus 15 degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit).
“If the power supply continues to be absent while the outside temperature remains low, we are unfortunately forced to drain the water from the buildings. Otherwise, the water may freeze and damage the entire water supply network, and buildings will become unsuitable for further use,” he said.
Klitschko urged residents to stock up on emergency food and water, as well as prepare clothes and documents for a quick departure if the heating supply is cut off. However, he said that currently there is no need to evacuate first as the city only has a 20% power deficit and its condition remains stable.
“Currently there is heating in Kyiv, there is electricity…everything is working, at the moment there is no need (for evacuation),” Klitschko said, but added that the inhabitants must be prepared for various scenarios.
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When asked what the city needed most right now, the mayor said a new air defense system. However, he added that tens of thousands of additional industrial generators and fan heaters are also needed.
“Our needs at the moment are quite big, and it’s only in Kyiv city… In other towns and villages, it’s pretty big.”
Klitschko said the economic impact of the war in Kyiv, which he said was difficult to assess but could reach tens of billions of dollars. This hampered the government’s ability to defend the city.
“Until today, there is no budget for construction, we don’t repair the roads, we don’t invest in the development of our cities… all the money goes to protection ( of our cities).” he said.
Klitschko last week dismissed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s criticism of winter preparations. Zelensky said at the time that he thought the terms were politically motivated and that it would be “odd” for a foreign government to support Ukraine.
Klitschko, now in his ninth year as mayor of Kyiv, was considered one of Zelenskiy’s political opponents before the Russian invasion.
“I’m sure politics is behind this, because representatives of a political group started running around trying to find fault (in Kyiv),” Klitschko said.
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