During the night, people were standing in front of the closed shelter when air raid alerts went off.
Zelensky: about problems with protective bunkers in Kyiv
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky again complained about the problems with protective bunkers in the capital Kyiv in connection with the ongoing night attacks by Russian missiles and drones.
“Citizens are complaining about shortages, about locked bunkers and closed access to them,” Zelensky criticized in his evening video message, published on Friday. In some areas there were no emergency shelters at all.
Shock from incidents
“This level of negligence in the city cannot be covered by any excuse,” Zelensky said. He instructed the government to take care of improving the situation. “After everything that happened yesterday in Kyiv, this state of affairs is unacceptable,” he said.
At night, people in the capital were standing in front of a closed shelter when air raid alerts went off. As a result of new Russian attacks, 3 people died, including a 9-year-old child. Zelenskiy already then demanded that a sufficient number of bunkers be available everywhere.
It was the responsibility of the municipalities to ensure that shelters were open around the clock. In Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko ordered them to reopen, as well as to ensure control after a failure on Thursday. However, according to Zelensky, new problems have arisen.
Mistake with consequences
Meanwhile, the Kyiv media reported today that a criminal case had been opened against 4 people responsible for blocking access to the bunker of a medical facility. The Kyiv prosecutor’s office said that the condition of the bomb shelters is being checked jointly with the police. It is also being investigated whether the funds allocated during the war for the repair of air-raid shelters were embezzled.
In his video, the President of Ukraine also announced a meeting with his Estonian counterpart Alar Karis, whom he thanked for military assistance and solidarity against Russian aggression. The Baltic EU and NATO country Estonia also shares a border with Russia.
Zelensky thanked Karis for supporting Kyiv’s bid to join NATO. However, at a joint press conference in Kyiv, he also said that Ukraine cannot become a member of the military alliance while it is at war.
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Top photo: Andreea Alexandru/AP/dpa
