Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said he does not rule out an attempt to remove him from office amid public accusations that the capital was allegedly insufficiently prepared for winter. At the same time, he stressed that he has no conflict with the Office of the President.
Klitschko said this in an interview with BBC News Ukrainian. According to him, if he is removed, he will fight to keep his position.
“If there is an attempt to remove me, I will fight.”
Vitali Klitschko, Mayor of Kyiv
Klitschko claims that during the full-scale war, the central government similarly removed “300 other mayors” from office. He provided no details or evidence to support this claim.
“I can say clearly: we abide by the law, and in a lawful manner, I, as a representative of the community that entrusted me with the responsibility of defending the interests of Kyiv’s community, will do everything possible for as long as the community grants me such authority.”
Vitali Klitschko, Mayor of Kyiv
Claims about criminal proceedings
As an example of what he considers efforts to discredit him, Klitschko cited the number of criminal proceedings opened against the Kyiv City State Administration. According to him, there are 1,600 such cases, while only four have reached court.
“You can divide the number to see how many such criminal cases were opened per day. One could applaud how well the fight against corruption is going, because this is a large number of cases. The question is how many of these opened criminal cases have reached court.”
Vitali Klitschko, Mayor of Kyiv
The mayor’s statement did not specify the timeframe, nature of these proceedings or the outcomes of court hearings.
Debate over Kyiv’s preparations for winter
Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented on a meeting with former Security Service of Ukraine chief Vasyl Maliuk, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov and Ivan Fedorov, head of the State Agency for Restoration, during which the capital’s problems were discussed.
The president said he seeks to strengthen Kyiv’s security and involve people capable of responding swiftly to the challenges of war.
“I know that local self-government bodies and the mayor were nervous. They should not be nervous because of my dialogue. My dialogue with certain people is about strengthening the capital. I want to build a team that can strengthen the mayor, strengthen Kyiv residents, strengthen Kyiv, rather than have someone fighting over something.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine
Zelenskyy also said that he is holding consultations with representatives of business and the security sector, including privately.
On October 13, the president criticized Kyiv’s preparations for the heating season. According to him, even border and frontline regions are implementing resilience plans more effectively than the capital.
Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi told BBC News Ukrainian that Kyiv could have been better prepared for winter. On October 14, Klitschko addressed parliament, where he accused the government of freezing payments and staging a “show” around resilience plans. He also said that local self-government in Ukraine is “being destroyed, and not only in Kyiv.”
