Vitaliy Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv and one of the most famous Ukrainian politicians, believes that the central government is trying to discredit him and pave the way for his removal from office.
In an interview with the BBC Ukrainian Service, he links the escalation of the conflict with criticism of the capital's preparedness for winter, public protests against the city administration and criminal investigations.
At the same time, Klitschko himself denies that his relationship with the presidential office boils down to a personal conflict, and presents what is happening as a broader problem of the relationship between the central government and local government.
This is a retelling of an interview conducted by Oleg Chernysh, a correspondent for the BBC Ukrainian Service. Klitschko’s entire interview in Ukrainian can be read here.
Kyiv's readiness for winter
One of the main topics of the confrontation is the preparation of the capital for the heating season in the context of Russian attacks on the energy infrastructure. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv had failed to implement its resilience plan, while Prime Minister Andrei Koretsky noted that the city could have prepared better and faster.
Klitschko denies these accusations. According to him, city services are working according to the approved schedule, and the central heating system is ready to start. The creation of backup infrastructure continues, which should help in case of damage to the main heat supply systems.
But the mayor emphasizes that the sustainability of Kyiv depends not only on municipal authorities. The capital consumes significant amounts of electricity, but does not have its own generation capable of covering its needs.
Therefore, interruptions in electricity, water supply and metro work are a consequence of damage to energy facilities outside the city and the insufficient effectiveness of air defense, he is sure: “We can hang all the dogs on Klitschko and even blame him for the Third World War, but until the air defense works effectively, we cannot guarantee anything.”
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Klitschko believes that the central government is unfairly placing responsibility for the consequences of Russian strikes on the city administration. He warns that the exchange of accusations between Ukrainian leaders is beneficial to Russia because it diverts attention from a common enemy.
“It’s strange: we are following Putin’s plan. He launches missiles, infrastructure is destroyed, problems arise. Nobody remembers Putin, everyone points fingers at each other. But this doesn’t make people feel any better. He adds fuel to the fire and watches with a grin as we begin to blame each other,” says the Kiev mayor.
Dispute over shelters and district administrations
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Another subject of criticism was the lack of a sufficient number of mobile shelters in Kyiv. Klitschko explains the delays in their installation by the fact that state certificates for such structures were approved only in the summer of 2025.
In addition, according to him, in the early fall of 2025, the city allocated funds for the purchase of shelters, but the money was not used by district administrations and returned to the budget. At the same time, district administrations, according to the mayor, are built into the vertical of central power: their leaders are appointed by the president, and Klitschko himself does not have the authority to fire them or punish them.
“I can say ‘ah-ah-ay’, demand and so on, but they created a broken system. And then I begin to tell you that as of today this year there has been no application from the districts for the installation of shelters.”
Before the interview with Vitali Klitschko, the BBC Ukrainian Service spoke with the heads of the district administrations of Kyiv. They claimed that the money for shelters was allegedly specially allocated at the end of the year so that it could not be sold - it arrived in the accounts in December, and the district authorities did not have time to hold tenders before the end of the year.
Klitschko calls such words excuses. “Okay, don't supply them, but make contracts, place an order. If you don’t have time before the New Year, deliver it after, because the process has begun, everything has already been paid for. Therefore, such excuses are not accepted.”
According to the mayor, the built system creates a contradiction: residents place responsibility for the state of the city on him, and not on the performers who are subordinate to another management vertical. Klitschko cannot say whether this is being done intentionally or not, but he suspects that the current situation could be used to weaken his position.
About corruption and political pressure
Klitschko claims that more than 1,600 criminal proceedings were opened against the Kyiv City State Administration, but only four of them reached the court. He believes that some investigations are used for political pressure: “Everything is done to discredit me.”
At the same time, the mayor acknowledges the existence of corruption problems in the city government and states that officials who violated the law must be held accountable: “God forbid, if someone is involved in corruption, we will cut off his fingers, hands, ears, heads - so that others will be discouraged.”
In particular, he does not consider the case of the former head of the Kyiv metro Viktor Braginsky, who is now wanted on suspicion of embezzlement of 137 million hryvnia (about $3 million), as well as an investigation into multimillion-dollar fraud with land plots in the capital, to be political.
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“But there are many criminal cases that are far-fetched. We employ people who have eight suspicions each. Eight suspicions, and he runs through the courts. I see that this is a political order, there are no grounds, and the case is simply falling apart,” Klitschko says.
A special place in the interview is occupied by the rally demanding Klitschko’s resignation, which took place on October 17. The mayor considers him part of a discrediting campaign and associates him with the actions of representatives of the central government. In particular, he draws attention to the participation in the event of the head of the Desnyansky district administration, Maxim Bakhmatov.
“When the head of the district administration brings people from the district, calls himself a representative of the president, and takes part in organizing a rally, the question arises who assigned him this task,” says the Kiev mayor.
He directly claims that President Zelensky wants to remove him from office and appoint a military administration. “Everything is done to discredit. This rally is one of the components, one of the puzzles. Constant criminal cases, searches, blocking of work - everything adds up to the overall picture.”
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What's next?
Klitschko intends to remain as mayor as long as his powers remain in accordance with the law, and if he is removed from office, he intends to fight. He emphasizes that the city leader should be elected by residents, and not appointed from above.
“There will be the next elections - others will come, please, the community decides. I am convinced that each of the residents wants to decide for themselves who will protect their interests, and not so that someone from above “paratroopers” is put in charge of their communities.”
At the same time, Klitschko, who has held the position of mayor of Kyiv for 12 years, speaks of the need for cohesion in society and various branches of government, opposes internal political struggle, and calls the idea of elections in the context of an ongoing war ephemeral.
“What irritates me most is when someone comes out and starts talking about it,” Klitschko’s interview ends with these words.
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