Vitali Klitschko: Kyiv in an extremely dramatic situation after Russian strikes

Kyiv's mayor Vitali Klitschko warned that the Ukrainian capital is facing an "extremely dramatic situation" after a new wave of Russian strikes that, he says, aim to destroy parts of the city. In a Telegram post Klitschko described the continuing attacks as a turning point for residents' daily life.

Impact on transport and civilian life

Klitschko said the strikes have forced partial restrictions on traffic across three bridges over the Dnipro River, producing heavy congestion and complicating movement in and out of central districts. He framed the measures and the attacks as "another tactic in a campaign of terror against the capital's residents."

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk warned that civilians are paying the highest price. "The civilian population bears the heaviest consequences of this war," he said, calling the conflict a mounting humanitarian catastrophe that deepens week by week and leaves people across Ukraine living in constant fear.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said Kyiv has received separate proposals for a partial ceasefire from the United States, India, Turkey and Egypt. Those proposals reportedly include stopping strikes on energy infrastructure that have caused fuel shortages in Russia and power outages in Ukraine, and halting attacks on maritime traffic in the Black Sea that are essential for grain exports to global markets.

Despite an escalation in air strikes over recent months, fighting along the roughly 1,250-kilometre front line has been largely static. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022.

Photo: press material from the event