Klitschko: Kyiv is switching to “survival” mode ahead of winter

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko has said the city is already switching to “survival” mode ahead of the onset of winter.

He made the statement in an interview with AFP.

“Every day brings new information about destroyed buildings, wounded or tragically killed people. The bombardment of our city is intensifying. Today the only question is survival,” Klitschko said.

According to AFP, in recent weeks Moscow has stepped up missile and drone strikes on Kyiv, targeting among other things the power grid, which had already been severely damaged last winter. These attacks have led to emergency water and electricity outages.

“The crisis could be quite large-scale. Unfortunately, temporary power outages have already begun in some districts,” the mayor acknowledged.

To prepare for possible prolonged heating disruptions, authorities are installing backup heating systems and stockpiling fuel, food, and drinking water, the agency reports. However, Klitschko warned that even thorough preparation cannot guarantee the city’s safety.

“No matter how well we prepare, if air defenses fail, we could find ourselves in an extremely unfavorable situation,” he commented.

A separate threat has come from strikes on bridges across the Dnipro — AFP notes this is the first such instance since the start of the war. Klitschko stressed the critical importance of the crossings for the city.

“Connecting the left and right banks is one of the key factors in the uninterrupted functioning of the city,” the mayor said.

According to him, authorities are exploring alternative solutions for crossing the river, including the installation of floating pontoons to ease traffic flow. Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Russia is preparing a new tactic of air strikes on Ukraine ahead of the coming winter.