Heating restored in freezing Kyiv–Mayor Klitschko

Local residents gather near a building destroyed by a Russian drone attack, as their attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine December 14, 2022. REUTERS

Heating has been fully restored to Kyiv after the latest Russian bombardment that targeted water and power infrastructure, the capital’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Sunday.

“The city is restoring all services after the latest shelling,” Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging app.

“In particular, the capital’s heat supply system was fully restored. All sources of heat supply work normally.”

Ukrainian officials said Russia fired more than 70 missiles on Friday in one of its heaviest barrages since the Kremlin’s Feb. 24 invasion, forcing emergency blackouts nationwide and cutting access to heat and water.

Temperatures in Kyiv and many places across Ukraine were below freezing on Sunday morning, with forecasts expecting them to dip to minus 6 degrees Celsius (21.2 °F) in the capital by the evening.

Kyiv is by far the largest city in Ukraine with an estimated population of about 3 million, with up to two million more in the Kyiv region.

As of late Saturday, a third of the city remained without power.

Sergei Kovalenko, chief executive of YASNO, which provides electricity for Kyiv said late on Saturday that access to power has been increasing with each hour.

“The situation remains difficult and critical,” Kovalenko said on his Facebook account.

RELATED STORIES

Fog-shrouded Kyiv recovers after Russia strikes, power restored to 6 million

Ukraine general says Russia digging in for long war