“Points of indestructibility” is just an excuse for Zelensky to attack Klitschko
The current political confrontation originated in 2019, according to Klymenko.
Following an inspection by representatives of the President's Office, it was discovered that 20% of the Kyiv “Invincibility Points” were closed. The authorities later turned this into a public scandal, which goes back to the long-standing confrontation between the OP and the mayor of Kyiv. We will explain what is happening in the political arena of the capital and Ukraine during wartime.
Non-working points in Kyiv
It all began when President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky personally stated in a video message on November 25 that local authorities did not adequately organize such points everywhere, and only the points set up at the State Emergency Service and the railway station in the capital were functioning properly.
“No one will forgive anyone for profanation with the Kyiv ‘Points of Invincibility’. Please be more serious. As well as lies in reports of various levels,” Zelensky said.
Later, the head of the Servant of the People faction, David Arakhamia, inspected the Kyiv Points of Invincibility and revealed the disappointing results of his inspection, which we have detailed in the linked material.
The Mayor of Kyiv sees the “Points of Invincibility” as a deliberate politicization
According to Mayor Vitali Klitschko, the issue surrounding the “Points of Invincibility” is intentionally being given a political slant. He stated that there are more than 430 operating heating points in the capital, and more than 100 such points are being prepared in case of an emergency.
“I do not want, especially in the current situation, to enter into political battles. This is silly. I have things to do. And I note that there is no need to manipulate! Because it looks strange: when yesterday I went to check the work of points, I meet people's deputies from the party in power. And they tell me in a private conversation that all the points they have visited are open and working. And then some incomprehensible photos are fasting. It looks, to put it mildly, ugly. Both for Ukrainians and for our foreign partners. Today, when everyone must work together, some political dances begin,” he wrote.
“Points of indestructibility.” A week to resolve issues
On the evening of Sunday, November 27, Arakhamia also addressed the political topic directly and stated that he did not intend to allow the authorities to be pulled into the political struggle over the “Invincibility Points”.
“Either the city authorities will do this, or we will find those who are not indifferent to 3 million Kyivans. We are really happy with both options. (…) That's why I have a suggestion. In a week, the city authorities will correct the mistakes – and together with the head of the city we will go for an inspection. This will be the best proof that none of us is looking for speculations.” he wrote.
As a result, Klitschko finds himself in a position of accountability and is required to demonstrate the quality of his work to the authorities. Otherwise, his work will once again be publicly acknowledged as ineffective, dealing a significant blow to his reputation as mayor.
The resurgence of the political struggle
Klitschko has traditionally had strong support among the residents of the capital, and he is a political ally of the fifth president, Petro Poroshenko, as well as a political opponent of Zelensky.
The confrontation between President Zelensky's team and Mayor Klitschko of Kyiv began after the formation of the OP in June 2019. At that time, the former head of the OP, Andriy Bohdan, submitted a document to the Cabinet of Ministers with the intention of dividing the powers of the mayor of Kyiv and the head of the Kyiv City State Administration – as Klitschko held both positions from the end of June 2014. In September, the government of Alexei Goncharuk agreed to dismiss Klitschko, and in October of the same year, Alexander Tkachenko submitted his electronic declaration as a candidate for the position of head of the Kyiv City State Administration – though nothing ultimately came of it.
After Bogdan was removed from his positions and Andriy Yermak was appointed as the head of the OP, compromises were made with Klitschko, and representatives of the Servant of the People took over positions in the Kyiv City Council after the local elections.
Attacks on Klitschko have been increasing from all sides: he was called in for questioning in a land fraud case, law enforcement officers visited his apartment, searches were carried out in the capital, and protests were organized due to building demolitions in Kyiv. Scandals also arose around Klitschko's possible favoritism of developers. Klitschko saw this as an attempt to discredit him and appoint another person as the head of the KSCA. Supporters of the mayor claimed that Zelensky feared Klitschko as a real opponent in a potential presidential election. However, authorities stated that they had no complaints against the mayor, only complaints about the city's problems.
A new conflict between the OP and Klitschko arose in January-February 2022. On January 20, 2022, the Kyiv City Council demanded the central authorities to prevent political persecution of Poroshenko, and a few days later, two deputies of Klitschko, Nikolai Povoroznik and Pyotr Panteleev, were suspected of wrongdoing.
On January 24, the Cabinet of Ministers changed the procedure for appointing the heads of district state administrations in Kyiv. The prime minister now has the authority to propose their candidatures, which was previously the responsibility of the head of the Kyiv City State Administration (Klitschko). Then, on January 27, Zelensky dismissed the heads of the Darnitsa, Dnipro, and Shevchenkiv regional state administrations, and appointed acting ones in their place. In response, Klitschko created “departments of districts” in the structure of the KSCA, which take on up to 90% of the powers of district state administrations.
When the full-scale war started, Zelensky appointed the head of the military-civilian administration in Kyiv, and Klitschko focused on ensuring the city's functions, such as the current story with the “Invincibility Points,” without getting involved in political scandals.
Unofficial information suggests that apart from criticism, the authorities are not doing much to help the Kyiv authorities in setting up these points.
Only time will tell whether the new confrontation between the OP and the mayor of Kyiv indicates plans for the 2023 elections, which are rumored unofficially.
Klitschko announced on November 1 that they were preparing to deploy about 1,000 points to warm people in case of emergencies in the capital. On November 24, the Kyiv City Military Administration announced that the first 500 of these points had started to be deployed in Kyiv and urged businesses to create their own heating points.
Addresses of all the “Invincibility Points” of Ukraine can be viewed on the website at the link.
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