Kyiv mayor proud of citizens' spirit, anxious about future

As Russian troops draw closer to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv’s mayor is filled with pride over his citizens’ spirit yet anxious about how long they can hold out.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday, after a grueling night of Russian attacks on the outskirts of the city, Mayor Vitali Klitschko was silent for several seconds when asked if there were plans to evacuate civilians if Russian troops managed to take Kyiv.

“We can’t do that, because all ways are blocked,” he finally said, speaking in English. “All ways are blocked and right now we are encircled — everywhere is Russians and we don’t have a way to evacuate the people. And everyone who had plans to evacuate himself already moved.”

The AP was not able to immediately verify the mayor’s report that Kyiv was surrounded, and his spokesperson later tweeted that the mayor had misspoken.

Klitschko himself later backed away from his earlier assessment, saying on his Telegram channel that “In the evening, Russian Internet publications spread information with reference to me that Kyiv is allegedly surrounded and evacuation of people is impossible. ... Do not believe lies! Trust information only from official sources.”