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The Ukrainian government have started another investigations and audit of bomb shelters in Kyiv and other major cities in the eastern European country. Stay tuned as we look into what happened and how they're responding to the allegations. Good morning!
Immediately after the Russian military invasion of Ukraine in February last year, the Ukrainian government started building bomb shelters that'll house civilians during shellings and bomb attacks by Russia.
Many Ukrainians have criticized the credibilities of those bomb shelters after 3 civilians were killed because the gates of the bomb shelter in Kyiv was locked. These has warranted the government to set up a panel to investigate the various bomb shelters across Ukraine.
Ukraine's government reprimanded Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko on Tuesday after criticism of city officials over the state of bomb shelters following the deaths of three people locked out on the street during a Russian air raid.
The government said it had also approved the dismissal of the heads of two Kyiv districts and two acting heads of districts.
It was not immediately clear whether Klitschko, a former boxer, would face any further action.
Uncertainty about his political future grew after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy criticised officials in the capital over the June 1 incident, in which two women and a girl were killed by falling debris after rushing to a shelter and finding it shut.
Zelenskiy also ordered an audit of all bomb shelters in Kyiv after the incident, and said personnel changes would be made.
Now in his ninth year as mayor, Klitschko was seen as one of Zelenskiy's highest-profile opponents before Russia's invasion in February 2022, and they had a public spat last November when the president accused him doing a poor job setting up emergency shelters to help people with power and heat.
These auditing is in line with the recent fight against corruption in Ukraine and also to know where the public funds are being used for. Those found wanting will be brought to court and if the court finds them guilty they'll face the course of the law.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told a government meeting that the audit ordered by Zelenskiy had found that 77% of the shelters in Ukraine were fit for use, but that many did not "meet any standards".
He said the situation was "unacceptable" in some places, and mentioned districts in the Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Zhytomyr and Kyiv regions, as well as the city of Kyiv.
The government have dismissed some district officers that were alleged to the June 1 incident. In days to come more officials will be investigated and probably dismissed.
Meanwhile, the government had appointed Strategic Industries Minister Oleksandr Kamyshin to champion the investigation process of the bomb shelters for more insight about the bomb shelter incident.
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