Each Russian attack on Kyiv costs the city budget about $12 million. Russian strikes have already damaged more than four thousand buildings in the capital, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in answer to a Novyny.LIVE journalist.
Russian forces now strike Kyiv with ballistic and cruise missiles or drones on average almost twice a week. The latest massed attack, on the night of 20 August, killed at least 16 people in Kyiv and the region.
The cumulative damage keeps growing
The toll on the city's housing is vast. More than four thousand buildings in Kyiv have been damaged by Russian strikes, Klitschko continued, with each attack adding to a repair bill the city carries alongside the human losses.
New shelters are planned, but old money went unspent
Kyiv plans to expand its shelter network. By the end of 2026, the city intends to install new mobile shelters, placed first in districts and locations that lack other accessible cover, Klitschko stated.
The plan follows a failure that the mayor acknowledged. Last year, Kyiv allocated $12 million for mobile shelters, but the district administrations did not use the money. It was returned to the city budget.
The capital also still lacks enough professional bomb shelters capable of better protecting people during missile strikes, he added. This gap persists as tens of thousands of Kyiv residents shelter in metro stations through the attacks.
The city is building a backup heating system
Meanwhile, Kyiv is preparing for winter under fire. The city has completed more than 50% of planned work to create a backup heating system, with readiness at some sites already reaching 90%, the Kyiv mayor added.
Russia has struck Ukraine's energy and heating infrastructure each winter of the war. A backup system is Kyiv's insurance that a successful strike on one heat source does not leave districts frozen, part of the same preparation for the heating season that Ukraine's government is racing to complete nationally before the cold.
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