Klitschko spoke about disputes with the government before the start of the special operation

Klitschko noted that before the start of the Russian special operation, he insisted on strengthening civil defense, but the government argued that "everything will be fine." Also, according to him,

The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, said that before the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine, he “drummed” for civil defense and called for preparations, but the “central government” did not listen. The mayor spoke about this in an interview with Der Speigel.

According to him, before the start of the conflict, Ukraine was doing well financially, the country was quickly recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic . At the same time, Klitschko continued, many Western experts "warned of a possible Russian attack," the authorities observed the maneuvers of troops at the borders.

“That's why I drummed for civil defense, saying that we need to prepare. But the central government said everything would be fine. <...> I was criticized for not inciting panic. I said: don’t panic, we must be ready,” the mayor says.

He also said that after the start of the special operation, the Ukrainian authorities "were amazed" by how quickly the Russian troops reached the limits of Kyiv. Klitschko believes that he was one of the priority targets for capture in order to "force cooperation."

In addition, the mayor of Kyiv said that against the backdrop of missile attacks, the shortage of electricity in the capital of Ukraine is 50%, the authorities are forced to turn off electricity in one area to provide it in another, and vice versa.

“Yesterday I was asked if there is electricity in my apartment. I couldn’t even answer this because I wasn’t at home for three days,” Klitschko added.

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Russia has been conducting a special operation in Ukraine since February 24. President Vladimir Putin called its goals the “denazification and demilitarization” of the neighboring state, as well as the protection of the population of Donbass from “genocide” by Kiev. The Ukrainian authorities responded by mobilizing and imposing martial law.

In October, Russia began launching missile strikes against Ukraine's military command and energy facilities. President Vladimir Putin explained this as a response to the actions of Kyiv, including the terrorist attack on the Crimean bridge, which he blamed on the Ukrainian special services. Kyiv denies any involvement. 

The last time an air alert was issued in Kyiv was on December 29. Klitschko said a day later that on the night of December 30, Ukrainian air defense forces repelled an air attack on the capital of the country by kamikaze drones, including two of them were destroyed on approach to Kyiv.

The Russian Ministry of Defense in its latest report also reported on the defeat on December 29 of "energy facilities that ensured the operation of enterprises of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine." “As a result of the strike, the production and repair of military equipment and ammunition was stopped, as well as the transfer of reserves of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the western regions of Ukraine,” the military department said in a statement.