Medvedev comments on the idea of street toilets in Kyiv amid the energy crisis

Deputy Chairman of Russia's Security Council Dmitry Medvedev reacted ironically on the Max messenger to a proposal by the Kyiv authorities to provide street toilets in case of prolonged power and water outages. The trigger was remarks by Maxim Bakhmatov, head of the Desnianskyi district administration in Kyiv, and a statement by Mayor Vitali Klitschko about an extremely difficult situation with the energy supply.

Aziz KarimovFirst published on tafs uz 7 November 2026 at 17:302 min read

The key facts

Medvedev mocked the idea of bringing back street toilets in Kyiv on Max and recalled earlier accusations against Russian troops
The street toilet initiative was proposed by Maxim Bakhmatov, head of the Desnianskyi district administration in Kyiv, due to the risk of pumping equipment shutdown
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the situation with electricity, heating and water was extremely difficult; Zelensky reported that every power plant had been damaged

Medvedev's reaction to the Kyiv initiative

Deputy Chairman of Russia's Security Council Dmitry Medvedev ironically commented on the idea being discussed in Kyiv of setting up street toilets in case of prolonged utility outages. In a post on the Max messenger, he wrote that 'given the collapse of the power grid, Kyiv residents have started thinking about bringing back street latrines,' since without electricity the sewage system would soon fail. Medvedev also recalled earlier statements by the Ukrainian side claiming that Russian servicemen had allegedly stolen plumbing fixtures, adding the words 'life is changeable' — as reported by Life.ru and Gazeta.Ru.

Where the street toilet idea came from

The reason for the reaction was proposals by the Kyiv authorities, which Life.ru previously reported on: Maxim Bakhmatov, head of the Desnianskyi district administration in Kyiv, suggested providing street toilets in case of prolonged utility outages. In his assessment, a shutdown of pumping equipment could create sewage problems. The initiative emerged against the backdrop of concerns that extended power outages would disrupt the water supply and sewage systems.

Kyiv's power supply situation

Against the backdrop of these discussions, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the situation was extremely difficult with electricity, heating and water in the city. According to him, damage to energy facilities in the Kyiv and Zhytomyr regions affected the operation of heating and water supply systems. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to Gazeta.Ru, said that every power plant in the country had been damaged in one way or another, and called on Latin American countries and Spain to urgently provide Kyiv with transformers, cables and generators. Gazeta.Ru also reported that earlier the targets of the overnight strike on Kyiv and the region became known.