Multiple hours-long air raid sirens are bringing daily life in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, to a near standstill, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in an interview with Morning Edition.
A change in tactics by the Russians has meant that instead of attacks on the city maybe once-a-week, now "they send non-stop kamikaze drones to our hometown and ballistic missiles, and we listen to air alarms 10, 12, sometimes 15 times a day," Klitschko told NPR's Steve Inskeep.
He noted that the attacks now include jet-powered drones, alongside the usual Shahed drones and ballistic missiles, which means people have even less time than before to find cover once an air raid alarm sounds.
"We only have a couple of minutes to get to the shelters," Klitschko said, a former world champion heavyweight boxer who was elected as Kyiv's mayor in 2014. The attacks are also crippling Kyiv's economy, which is already strained by not just Russian bombardment of the city, but also by lack of human capital, Klitschko said. Hundreds of thousands of people, particularly men, have been mobilized to fight since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in early 2022. And while Ukraine's economy has slowly grown after taking a nosedive in 2022, Klitschko admitted that the sheer lack of people working could be a problem moving forward.
Russia's recent near-constant pounding of Kyiv, one of the most populated cities in Eastern Europe, comes at a time when Ukraine's stockpile of interceptor missiles is dwindling. Just days ago, nearly 40 people were killed after a warehouse full of weapons was struck in the outskirts of Kyiv. Ukrainians, including Klitschko, say they are preparing for a difficult and potentially deadly winter.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has for months made a broad appeal to Ukraine's allies for more defense weapons, including the US, saying, "[Ukraine] is keeping up with the reality of the threat we face."
Listen to the full interview with Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko by clicking the blue play button above.
The digital version was written by Ashley Westerman and edited by Treye Green. The on-air version was produced by Ana Perez.
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