Ukraine's capital warns of 'apocalyptic' winter

KYIV: Kyiv's mayor warned on Wednesday of an apocalypse scenario for the Ukrainian capital this winter if Russian air strikes on infrastructure continue, but he said there was no need for residents to evacuate now, though they should be ready to do so.

Kyiv might lose power, water, and heat supply. The apocalypse might happen, like in Hollywood movies, when it's not possible to live in homes with low temperatures, Mayor Vitali Klitschko told Reuters in an interview.

The former boxer said that he was raising his voice to drive the point home, but we are fighting and doing everything we can to make sure that does not happen.

The picture is bleak: the capital lacks enough heated shelters to take in all 3.6 million residents in the event of completes outages, and people should be prepared to evacuate if the situation worsens, Klitschko said.

We have prepared nearly 500 autonomous heating hubs at present. But for a city of 3 million, 500 points is nothing, he said.

Klitschko, a former world heavyweight boxing champion before entering politics, painted a picture of a harsh future for Ukraine's more than 1,500 year-old capital.

He sketched out a possible scenario in which the city could be left without central heating until spring at a time when temperatures can fall as low as 15 degrees Celsius.

If electricity supply continues to be absent while outside temperatures remain low, we will have to drain water from buildings, he said.

The water can freeze and break the entire water supply network, and buildings will be totally unfit for further use. Klitschko urged residents to prepare for emergencies, such as food and water, as well as to have clothes and documents ready for a quick departure if the heating supply is turned off.

He said that there was no need to evacuate as the city only had a 20 per cent power deficit and conditions remained stable.