Russian mass strikes have left at least four people dead and half of Kyiv’s apartment buildings without heating, prompting the mayor today to call for the “temporary” evacuation of the Ukrainian capital.
“Half of the apartment buildings in Kyiv are currently without heating,” warned Mayor Vitali Klitschko, urging residents who are able to leave the city “temporarily”.
In a pointed statement apparently directed at Klitschko, President Zelensky called on municipal authorities “not to avoid problems but to resolve them, especially where there are resources to do so, as in Kyiv”.
Journalists from Agence France-Presse did not observe a mass exodus of residents at bus and train stations.
Teams are working in temperatures ranging from -7°C to -12°C to restore heating to the capital as quickly as possible, which had been cut off to 417,000 households, according to private electricity provider DTEK.