According to Mayor Vitali Klitschko, Kiev is still in the hands of the government. “The night was difficult, but there are no Russian troops in the city,” says Klitschko in a video distributed via Telegram. At the same time, he emphasizes: “The enemy is trying to penetrate the city.” As of 5 a.m. CET there were 35 injured, including two children.
Klitschko warns the population in the clip to get to safety. “Stay in the bomb shelters because the enemy is attacking from the air.” The infrastructure works, the subway runs. The former world boxing champion calls for the removal of suspected target markings on houses. “We have set up checkpoints, so movement in the city is restricted and made more difficult.” Klitschko says:
It will be difficult, but we have an obligation to persevere because the army is with us, the territorial defense is with us, justice is with us.
Eyewitnesses had reported dozens of detonations in the city of about 2.8 million people. Numerous shots were also heard. A correspondent for the German Press Agency reported in the morning that there had been no shelling in the southwest for almost half an hour.