The Deputy Head of the Office of the President (OP) Oleksiy Kuleba stated that the OP has no conflict with the Mayor of Kyiv Vitaliy Klitschko, but asks him to "nevertheless prioritize the issue of shelters in Kyiv and bring them to their proper state."
Oleksiy Kuleba stated this in a comment to Babel.
On June 4, Kuleba said that the Presidentʼs Office wants to find out why the security guard in the case of the closed shelter in the Desnyansky district of Kyiv received two months in custody, and the heads of the polyclinic received house arrest. When asked by "Babel" why the Presidentʼs Office is taking control of this particular case, Kuleba answered: "It is not about control. It is about justice. After all, a wrong tradition has developed when they try to shift responsibility to false culprits."
"There is no conflict with Klitschko in OP. It is not necessary to simplify the situation to a conflict between someone and someone. A tragedy happened. Three people died. They died because they could not get to the shelter. This tragedy is the result of systemic problems in city management," Oleksiy Kuleba noted.
He emphasized that the law establishes a clear responsibility of local self-government bodies for civil protection of the population, in particular for shelter.
"I would like to remind you that the city of Kyiv has a single body of local self-government — it is the Kyiv City Council headed by the Kyiv Mayor. Everyone has tasks in their place. And they are very specific. Organizing safe shelters with full access and normal conditions is the responsibility of local self-government bodies," added Oleksiy Kuleba.
He emphasized that "the lack of proper shelters in Kyiv is a systemic problem," so this issue was discussed at the headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, and he also asked Klitschko to "still prioritize the issue of shelters in Kyiv and bring them to their proper state."
We will remind that, according to Babel sources, the Presidentʼs Office plans to appoint its own person to replace Vitaliy Klitschko in the Kyiv City State Administration. Currently, the most likely candidate is the Minister of Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin, which is why the OP is actively integrating him into the life of the capital.
- On the night of June 1, Russia launched another missile attack on the capital. Three people died, including one child. All of them could not get into the shelter of the polyclinic in the Desnyansky district — it was locked. The President Zelensky promised that "the reaction will be firm" and added "there may be a knockout." The heads of the districts of Kyiv called on Klitschko to give up one of the positions — either mayor or head of the Kyiv City State Administration (KCSA), which he holds. Klitschko said that there is a military administration in Kyiv headed by Serhii Popko. They are responsible for the safety of citizens in wartime and also reports not to the mayor, but to the president.
- On June 10, the Minister of Strategic Industry Oleksandr Kamyshin informed that all shelters in Kyiv had been checked and only 15% of them were suitable without significant comments. The KCSA accused the government of manipulation and stated that 65% of the shelters in the capital are suitable for use.