Kyiv mayor accuses authorities of trying to discredit him

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko claimed on June 21 that there is a campaign to discredit him and the city government.

Klitschko's statement comes amid a conflict between the mayor and President Volodymyr Zelensky's administration. Recently, Klitschko and presidential allies have accused each other of failing to ensure the proper functioning of bomb shelters.

The mayor argued that endless searches initiated by law enforcement agencies paralyze the work of the city government.

“Have we already won? Are there no other challenges, is Klitshchko the main problem?  And someone is itching to take control of the capital again," he said in a veiled reference to the President's Office. "But you are making Kyiv residents hostage to the political struggle."

Klitschko also commented on a court ruling to put Roman Tkachuk, the head of the Kyiv city government's security department, under house arrest on June 21. Tkachuk has been charged with negligence that allegedly led to the deaths of three people who tried to access a closed shelter during a Russian attack on June 1.

The mayor accused the authorities of selective justice and political motives in the Tkachuk case. He added that none of the heads of Kyiv's districts, which are subordinated to the president, had been prosecuted.