The mayor of Kiev, Vitali Klitschko, has called on the population of the Ukrainian capital to stockpile food and other necessities while sources in his administration have confirmed that plans are in place for a total evacuation of the city if power outages persist during the winter.
«I call on everyone to start stockpiling drinking water, (power) supplies, food and protective clothing,» the mayor said last night, as meteorological services advance that the capital will begin to record sub-zero nighttime temperatures starting next Wednesday.
«In case of severe frosts and no hot water supply, so that the pipes do not burst and the system does not stop working, we have prepared a plan to empty the water drainage from the system,» the mayor explained in comments reported by Ukrinform.
The warning comes after the Ukrainian state operator Ukrernergo announced last Saturday power cuts in seven regions of the country, including the Kiev region and the capital to compensate for the loss of power caused by the Russian invasion.
«What I ask people,» the mayor continued, «is to prepare for a bad scenario in the event of a total power cut, because Russia is doing everything it can to deprive this city of electricity and water.»
Meanwhile, sources in his administration have confirmed to the ‘New York Times’ that they have begun planning for the total evacuation of the city’s three million residents in the event of a total power outage.
«We understand that if Russia continues with such attacks, we may lose the entire power supply system,» Roman Tkachuk, head of the Kiev City Council’s Municipal Security Department, has told the U.S. newspaper.
«If there is no electricity, there will be no water and sewage. Therefore, the government and the city administration are now taking all possible measures to protect our power supply system,» he added before adding that, for the time being, the situation seems under control.
