Kyiv Mayor Klitschko warns of evacuations if power lost in city
Kyiv’s mayor Vitaliy Klitschko has warned citizens they should prepare to leave the city if there is a total loss of power.
In recent weeks, millions of Ukrainians have intermittently been left without electricity and water as Russian air strikes target vital infrastructure.
Rolling power cuts are also in place to avoid overloads.
Roughly 40% of Ukraine’s energy system has been destroyed or damaged by Russian attacks.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that Russia could be “concentrating forces and means for a possible repetition of mass attacks on our infrastructure, energy in the first instance”.
The Geneva Conventions, which outline humanitarian standards for treatment in war, state that attacks should not be carried out against “civilian objects”.
Major Klitschko branded the Russian attacks on infrastructure as “terrorism” and “genocide.” He said Putin wants Ukraine without Ukrainians. “His task is for us to die, to freeze, or to make us flee our land so that he can have it.”
Another official warned that if there is a total blackout, water supply and sewerage would also stop working.
As winter draws in, Mr Klitschko said residents should make arrangements to stay in the suburbs that will still have water and power is lost. He said residents should stock up on fuel, food and water.
