Klitschko called Kyiv "very dramatic," not uninhabitable
A viral post credits the mayor with words the coverage does not record. What is confirmed is Russia's strikes on the bridges over the Dnieper.
An alerts account on X, "Alerta Mundial," with no identifiable owner, posted on Saturday that Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko had supposedly told the press that the city is in an "extreme situation," that it is impossible to live there and that trade and the power grid are destroyed. The post carries no video, image or link to the statement. El Mediático could not open it and knows its text from a description.
Those phrases do not appear in the coverage reviewed. What Klitschko said on Friday, October 2, at a meeting of the city's defense council and on his Telegram channel, is narrower. Euronews and the BBC report this:
The capital is in a very dramatic situation. It's no longer possible to pretend that we can live now as we lived in peacetime.
According to Euronews, he added that "the enemy is tearing Kyiv apart." None of the four sources consulted, which include the AP news agency and The Kyiv Independent, says he called Kyiv uninhabitable or said it cannot face the winter.
What is documented is a mobility crisis. Since this week Russia has been hitting the bridges over the Dnieper, the river that separates the two banks of the capital. The Southern Bridge, which carries cars and the metro line, was hit four times in two days and is closed, according to the BBC. The Paton bridge runs in one direction only, according to Euronews. AP reports that three of the six road bridges are fully or partly closed.
On Saturday it was the Northern Bridge's turn: Klitschko reported damage to the road surface and to trolleybus cables, and two people were injured, according to AP. Russia's Defense Ministry claims the bridge serves troop movements, a version AP does not confirm. Kyiv is preparing pontoon crossings, with works of up to three months, according to The Kyiv Independent.
The attacks have also hit residential buildings, supermarkets, gas stations and data centers, according to AP. That does not mean trade or food distribution are destroyed, and the real state of supplies and the power grid remains unconfirmed with Kyiv's city hall or the energy authorities. The conference the post mentions has not turned up either. What is on record in the media is the October 2 meeting.
