Petro Poroshenko, along with Members of Parliament from “European Solidarity,” participated in a plenary session of the Kyiv City Council. Before the approval of the comprehensive energy resilience plan for the capital for 2026, the Fifth President called on the authorities to stop the political confrontation surrounding Kyiv and focus on protecting the people.
“Kyiv is not a political playground. Kyiv is home to 5 million people—Kyivans and displaced persons. In this home, it is our responsibility to ensure there is light, heat, water, and sewage, and that social facilities and shelters function effectively. The Russians thought they could break Kyiv with missiles. They failed. And it would be a shame if the capital were weakened by bureaucracy and political grievances. Kyiv is a city that has outlasted empires. And Kyiv will outlast many unbreakable, powerful political ambitions,” Poroshenko emphasized.
“The number of ballistic missile launches at Kyiv is incomparable to any other settlement or territorial community in Ukraine. The attacks were not against Bankova [the Presidential Administration] or Khreshchatyk; the attacks were against Ukraine. The enemy desperately wanted Kyiv to break, flee, and freeze, but our combined efforts prevented that,” said Poroshenko.
The party leader reminded that “European Solidarity” in the Verkhovna Rada was categorically against the withdrawal of the Personal Income Tax (PIT) from the capital’s budget: “If we calculate how much PIT funding has been taken from Kyiv’s budget, it amounts to 24 billion UAH. If these funds had been left to Kyiv, the city council, and the mayor, there would be no need to ask anyone for anything,” Poroshenko stated.
“Where did this money go? With Mindich, Chernyshov, and ‘Ali Baba’ involved, is there not enough money to collect from Kyiv? Which Members of Parliament voted for this decision? All the majoritarian MPs who supposedly represent Kyivans voted to take money away from Kyiv. Do they truly represent Kyivans? And where are the deputies of that political force now?” Poroshenko remarked. He also recalled that later, in addition to the military PIT, another 8 billion UAH was taken from the capital. According to Poroshenko, local budget funds should be allocated only to key expenditure items.
“There are 5 million Ukrainians in Kyiv. You are taking money from every single one of them. You are depriving them of shelters, boiler houses, water supply, sewage, electricity, and everything else. I emphasize – this is not about politics; this is about justice for Kyivans. It sickens me to see Bankova shifting responsibility onto Klitschko or the city council, trying to avoid accountability. The authorities are trying to play politics when the country needs unity. That is why we are here – to demand adult decisions. An adult decision is to return the PIT. An adult decision is to redistribute the local budget without touching the ‘Kyiv Defender’ allocation,” Poroshenko said. He noted that the capital requires a significant strengthening of air defense, as well as the urgent decentralization of energy supply.
“We are convinced that the system of energy decentralization is the path that must be pioneered in the city of Kyiv. I do not understand why, when cogeneration stations were provided as part of international technical assistance, not a single one reached Kyiv. And where they did go, there is no money or specialists to get them running,” Poroshenko noted. He also reminded that he has experience building 100 megawatts of additional capacity for industrial enterprises, which reduced the load on the state generation system.
“Allow the city authorities to independently mobilize international technical assistance, boiler houses, and generators. And bring cogeneration stations to Kyiv. Don’t present a winter preparation plan in August – do it now, in March, because the work must be completed by October. This is our common, united position- the position of people elected by Kyivans who bear responsibility to Kyivans,” Poroshenko said.
“The Ministry of Finance must issue special domestic government loan bonds for 20 billion UAH, specifically earmarked for resolving Kyiv’s energy supply issues,” Poroshenko believes.
“Today, our task is very simple-not to settle scores, but to ensure that Kyiv is ready for the next winter,” Petro Poroshenko concluded.