In rare public spat, Zelenskyy criticises Kyiv mayor over emergency centres

In a rare public spat involving Ukrainian leaders, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday criticised the mayor of Kyiv for doing what he said was a poor job setting up emergency shelters to help those without power and heat after Russian attacks.

In the wake of crushing Russian missile strikes against the power-generating system, Ukraine has established thousands of so-called “invincibility centres” where people can access heat, water, internet and mobile phone links.

In an evening address, Zelenskyy indicated that Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko and his officials had not done enough to help.

“Unfortunately, local authorities have not performed well in all cities. In particular, there are a lot of complaints in Kyiv … To put it mildly, more work is needed,” he said, saying the level of services available in many Kyiv centres was not good enough.