Kyiv mayor: "Putin’s goal is all of Ukraine... If you want to kill someone, you shoot them in the heart"

[Financial News] Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said, "I cannot guarantee that Ukraine will remain an independent state." His bleak assessment comes even as some have begun to voice hopes for an end to the war, and it is all the more striking because it comes from the mayor of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv. In an interview with the Financial Times (FT) on the 15th (local time), Klitschko said Kyiv is on the verge of collapse after two months of sustained Russian attacks on critical infrastructure.
According to FT, the 3.5 million residents of Kyiv have been enduring bitter winter cold after Russia’s invasion destroyed energy infrastructure. Temperatures in Kyiv have dropped below minus 20 degrees Celsius, and the city is blanketed in snow. As Russian attacks continue, more and more areas are losing not only heating but also electricity.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that, as of that day, heating had been cut off in 1,600 buildings in Kyiv. Klitschko said, "If you want to kill someone, you shoot them in the heart," criticizing Russia for targeting the capital and thereby threatening Ukraine’s very existence.
He went on, "Putin’s goal is not Donetsk, not Luhansk, and not the Crimean Peninsula," stressing, "The main targets are Kyiv and all of Ukraine, and he is trying to destroy our independence."
He added that relentless Russian attacks have rendered repair work on infrastructure almost meaningless. Each time damaged heating or power facilities are painstakingly restored, a new wave of airstrikes forces engineers to start over from scratch, he said, appealing that even European support is falling short under these conditions.
Klitschko, who has clashed with President Volodymyr Zelensky over preparedness for the harsh winter and other issues, also said, "Russia’s goal is to stir up internal unrest." It was a political message calling for unity in the name of peace and freedom.
The United States is pressing Russia and Ukraine to enter peace talks, treating June as a new target deadline.
The US administration led by President Donald Trump is urging Ukraine to accept territorial compromises and to hold early elections that could pave the way for a change of government.
Russia, for its part, is continuing long-range strikes on major Ukrainian cities and mounting human-wave-style offensives along the eastern front, in a last-ditch push to gain the upper hand before any negotiations.

mj@fnnews.com Park Moon-su Reporter