In an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday, Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko was silent for several seconds when asked if there were plans to evacuate civilians if Russian troops managed to take Kyiv.
“We can’t do that, because all ways are blocked,” he finally said. “Right now we are encircled.”
The mayor confirmed to the AP that nine civilians in Kyiv had been killed so far, including one child.
A Klitschko-ordered curfew began about sundown on Saturday and is to extend until at least 8 a.m. Monday. His order pointedly stated that any unauthorized person outside could be considered a saboteur.
“We are at the border of a humanitarian catastrophe,” he said. “Right now, we have electricity, right now we have water and heating in our houses. But the infrastructure is destroyed to deliver the food and medication.”
