Zelensky and Klitschko clash over Kyiv winter preparations as parliament summons mayor

A public clash over winter readiness

On Tuesday, 13 October, President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly accused the Kyiv city administration of falling behind other regions in preparing for winter. After a meeting on the winter plans, he said emergency measures were further advanced almost everywhere in the country than in the capital, including in the border and frontline regions. He warned that Kyiv residents already feel the gap, because even isolated hits by Shahed drones cause power and water outages across large parts of the city.

In mid-October, implementation of the emergency plans has advanced further across almost the whole country than in Kyiv, even in the border and frontline regions.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko rejected the criticism as unfounded. In a post on Telegram he accused the presidential administration of trying to undermine local self-government and to drive him out of office. He said the city's residents had elected him and that he was working under extremely difficult conditions to keep Kyiv functioning despite constant attacks.

Parliament calls the mayor in

Ukraine's parliament summoned Klitschko to a hearing on the situation in the capital for Wednesday, 14 October. Interfax-Ukraine reported that 151 lawmakers voted for the motion on Tuesday and eight voted against it. A lawmaker from the governing Servant of the People party brought the motion forward. According to the news portal LB.ua, the city administration is accused of having prepared inadequately for new attacks on the energy supply. Klitschko told the same portal that Kyiv's own power plants had been destroyed, leaving the city entirely dependent on the national grid.

For

151

Against

8

Kyiv under sustained attack

Kyiv has been the target of intensified Russian drone and missile attacks for weeks. Strikes on the energy supply have repeatedly caused power and water outages, and attacks on transport infrastructure, including bridges, have at times shut down the metro. Klitschko told AFP in early October that the capital was in 'survival mode'. He said the attacks made it harder to set up emergency heat supplies and to stockpile fuel, food and water, and he warned that a dire situation could follow if air defence fails.

Searching for scapegoats does not provide people with any extra warmth.

1. Early October 2026Klitschko tells AFP the capital is in survival mode
2. Oct 13, 2026Zelensky criticises Kyiv's winter preparations and Klitschko rejects the criticism
3. Oct 14, 2026Parliament hearing with Klitschko scheduled

The mayor's account and a campaign claim

According to TSN, Klitschko said the city administration was the target of a deliberate campaign run by channels close to the central government. He rejected talk of a failed start to the heating season, arguing that the season had not yet begun. He added that air defence is not the responsibility of the mayor. Vice Mayor Petro Pantelejew said the capital was ready for the start of the heating season. Speaking to the portal Strana, Klitschko said about 300 mayors across Ukraine had already been pushed out of office and replaced by heads of military administrations, and that his work would be judged at the next elections.

A rivalry dating back to 2019

Zelensky and Klitschko have been political rivals for years, and public clashes like this one are rare. Klitschko has been Kyiv's mayor since 2014 and has led the UDAR party since 2010. He was a leading opposition figure during the 2013 and 2014 Maidan protests and withdrew a 2014 presidential bid in favour of Petro Poroshenko. Klitschko is an ally of Poroshenko, who is the main political rival of the current president. One report says Zelensky tried to remove Klitschko from office after taking power in 2019, and Klitschko has repeatedly accused Zelensky of authoritarianism and of trying to reduce local authorities' powers.