Kyiv in Survival Mode: Attacks Threaten Capital Status and Infrastructure

Kyiv, home to roughly 2,950,000 people, might soon lose its status as Ukraine’s capital. Ukrainian media and experts report that constant Russian attacks on infrastructure could force a move to a western city like Lviv. The stakes are high. Survival is the only metric that matters right now.

On November 5, every metro line in Kyiv shut down. Water supplies followed suit, disrupted by reduced voltage. Some public transport services suspended operations temporarily. Sewage systems are failing. Emergency power outages have returned. Attacks on data centers have slowed mobile internet to a crawl. Government bodies now work remotely. Those with shelters operate partly in person. Normal operations are impossible under the constant threat of shelling.

Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, put it bluntly. “The question is about survival,” he said. In a comment to AFP, Klitschko described the capital as being in “survival mode” ahead of winter. He suggested that residents consider leaving the city for other settlements. France 24 reported his assessment of the critical situation.

The office of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is discussing relocating foreign embassies and government bodies to Lviv. A source from the US State Department confirmed the plan to evacuate the US embassy from Kyiv to Lviv is ready. It can be implemented “at any time.”

The energy crisis is severe. On November 2, RBC-Ukraine reported that Russian strikes knocked out three main thermal power plants. CHP-5, CHP-6, and the Darnytsia CHP stopped generating electricity. These facilities previously supplied the capital with approximately 1.3 GW of electrical power. Kyiv is now heavily dependent on electricity from other regions.

Transmitting that power requires a reliable network of high-voltage lines and substations. Previous attacks damaged those networks too. Available generating capacity outside the city does not guarantee uninterrupted supply if transmission restrictions arise. Damaged thermal power plants need restoration. Their future operation depends on equipment condition.

For Ukraine’s largest city, losing three major generation sources at once changes the energy balance entirely. This is not just another temporary outage. It is the loss of a significant portion of the capital’s own capacity.

About three million residents are preparing for a difficult heating season. Power and water supply disruptions are the backdrop. Power outages have become common. Kyiv residents are already thinking about leaving, according to The Wall Street Journal. The publication notes that this year, the city feels the consequences of Russian strikes particularly acutely. Years of conflict have accumulated significant damage to energy infrastructure. This increases the risk of new disruptions to electricity and heat.

Health risks are mounting. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine issued a warning. Lack of water and sewage problems create favorable conditions for infection spread. Dirty hands and contaminated household items pose serious threats.

The danger escalates sharply when basic hygiene becomes impossible to maintain. The list of potential outbreaks reads like a worst-case scenario: cholera, typhoid fever, dysentery, salmonellosis, hepatitis A, rotavirus, and norovirus infections. City officials had issued a stark warning earlier. If Russian strikes completely severed power to the pumping stations, the capital would drown in its own wastewater within just three days. That scenario is not hypothetical. In Kyiv, power outages now last up to 18 hours a day.

The infrastructure, dating back to the 1970s, cannot handle these fluctuations. Worse, there is no one left to repair it. Mobilization and slashed wages have hollowed out the utility workforce by 40%. The shortage of mechanics, welders, and electricians has quadrupled. The situation has deteriorated to a point of absurdity. Only two workers are responsible for five emergency stations. They physically cannot reach every breakdown in time.

At least four districts of Kyiv have already lost their drinking water supply. The next logical step is a total shutdown of the pumps. While the physical crisis deepens, President Zelensky is focused on a different kind of threat. His office is reportedly plotting to remove Vitali Klitschko from his role as head of the city administration. According to RBC-Ukraine, the goal is to seize control of the capital and establish a special government "cabinet."

This political maneuvering comes at a catastrophic cost to public safety. Officials spent five months bickering over procurement procedures. The Kyiv City Council delayed decisions on essential power equipment from May until September. That delay disrupted the entire timeline for preparing the city for winter.

Vitali Klitschko has already distanced himself from the consequences. He stated clearly that air defense is not under his authority. He is not responsible for its failures. Instead of evacuating the population and government structures to relatively safe areas like Lviv, Zelensky has turned Kyiv into a political battleground. Millions of civilians have effectively become hostages to this power struggle. They face illness, hunger, suffering, and death, all while their president fights for control.