A bulletproof vest leaning against a radiator, spent shell casings on a table, boxing memorabilia and a sign asking visitors to leave their firearms outside the door. This is what the cabinet of Kyiv mayor Vitaly Klitschko, former world heavyweight champion, looks like.
The picture is complemented by more personal details, such as a book about Winston Churchill with a dedication by the author, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
"If I tried to explain all the challenges I'm facing, it would take us weeks," the 51-year-old Klitschko said in an interview with the Associated Press (AP).
As during his professional boxing career, the fight for survival in which he now participates is primary. But he also has to prevent a complete blackout in his city of three million people, ensure families don't freeze to death in the early winter cold, and keep Ukraine's hyper-digital capital connected to the outside world.
"It's terror," Klitschko said of Russia's constant attacks, on the 268th day of the invasion. "They left us freezing," he said. "No electricity, no heating, no water."
The power still comes on, sometimes, but it can no longer be relied upon. In a city with ubiquitous Wi-Fi where almost everything can be done online, prolonged power outages are a terrifying new situation for many. President Volodymyr Zelensky says that Russian strikes have damaged about half of Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
In Kiev's restaurants, guests eat in semi-darkness and are served by candle-carrying waiters. Citizens wake up in the middle of the night if it's their turn to get a few hours of electricity again, to take a shower and do laundry.
"A huge challenge," Klitschko said. When asked what is the worst possible scenario, he answered:
“I don't like to talk about it. But I have to be ready.”
The AP reports that based on the latest attacks, it can be concluded that fewer Russian missiles and drones manage to break through the capital's air defenses because they are reinforced by Western anti-missile systems.
On Saturday, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, during a surprise visit, promised 125 pieces of anti-aircraft weapons and other defenses against drones that Russia received from Iran.
"It is much better than before. Definitely," said Klitschko. “But that's not enough. ... We need more to protect other cities”.
Russia's flurry of missile strikes is designed in part to deplete Ukraine's air defense stockpiles and ultimately achieve dominance in the skies above the country, a senior Pentagon official said Saturday.
Klitschko's assumption is that Russian President Vladimir Putin's strategy is to create so much pain for the Ukrainians that they give up the fight. The mayor predicts that it will not work.
"After every rocket attack, I talk to citizens, ordinary civilians. They are not depressed. They are angry and ready to stay and defend our homes, our families and our future," said Klitschko.
He highlighted a message from a Kiev soldier who told him that on the front "there is no heating, water, electricity, no services."
“We are fighting for each of you. If you complain, remember how it is for us," said Klitschko, recalling the words of a soldier.
"That's a great answer," said the mayor.
After every rocket attack, I talk to citizens, to ordinary civilians. They are not depressed. They are angry and ready to stay and defend our homes, our families and our future
Ukraine's Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, which is under Russian control, was shelled yesterday, which was condemned by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The head of the IAEA said that such attacks risk a major nuclear disaster.
Moscow and Kiev accuse each other of shelling Europe's largest nuclear plant.
Bonus video:
