'Not enough' work being done in Kyiv as city faces heating emergency, Zelensky says

There is "not enough" work being done in Kyiv to combat the severe energy crisis that has left hundreds of residential buildings without heating in freezing temperatures, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Feb. 1.

Zelensky's comments come as the city struggles to recover from a disruption in Ukraine's power grid on Jan. 31 that caused mass blackouts throughout the country. The shutdowns, which may have been triggered by frozen transmission lines, hit an energy system that has already been severely destabilized by constant Russian attacks.

The situation in Kyiv remains "extremely difficult," with over 500 apartment buildings without heat, Zelensky said the evening of Feb. 1.

"This certainly cannot be considered normal for a city when, for more than a week now, hundreds of buildings have been without heat every day, regardless of the situation," the president said.

"Whether there are strikes or not, hundreds of buildings in Kyiv are still without heating. This means that the work being done in the city is not enough."

Additional support and heating points have been set up across the city, Zelensky said, and a hotline and government contact center have been set up to connect residents to needed services.

"The city should at least work with government agencies more quickly on this, I urge you, so that people can receive timely assistance and accurate information."

About an hour later, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko posted his own update, saying that there are now only 244 buildings in Kyiv without heat following the Jan. 31 incident.

In the capital, there are currently 244 buildings without heat following an accident in the Ukrainian energy system.

"As a reminder, as a result of a large-scale accident on Saturday, 3,419 multi-story buildings were left without heating. The vast majority of them have already been connected to the heat supply," he said.

"Public utilities and energy companies continue to work and restore heating in the buildings of Kyiv residents."

As Ukraine faces its harshest winter in four years of Russia's full-scale war, Russian strikes on thermal power plants and other critical facilities have plunged Kyiv into a humanitarian crisis, leaving thousands of residents without heating, water, and electricity.

Zelensky has openly criticized the city authorities, including Klitschko, for failing to respond adequately to the emergency. Residents have also called out mismanagement in the city during winter, pointing to the increasingly hazardous roads and sidewalks.

Zelensky's political conflict with Klitschko dates back to 2019, and Klitschko has dismissed the recent criticisms as politically motivated.