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.

Ukraine has moved to guarantee its people places to hide amid Russia's terror. The Ukrainian parliament has passed a bill on shelters in the first reading, introduced by the opposition European Solidarity faction, with 296 MPs voting for the legislation on measures to ensure citizens' safety.

The bill responds to a sheltering crisis that Russia's escalating strikes have created, as the invading army cannot achieve full occupation of Ukraine. As Russia intensifies its attacks on Ukrainian cities, tens of thousands of Kyiv residents now have to sleep in metro stations each night, and in Kharkiv, the underground has become a vast cover for tens of thousands.

The bill draws on the Finnish model

The legislation draws on a country known for its civil defense. It adopts Finnish experience on ensuring citizens' access to shelters and strengthens the responsibility of central and local authorities for maintaining and funding them, according to the European Solidarity.

The faction framed shelters as the top protective priority.

"We understand that the issue of bomb shelters, the issue of shelters, is becoming problem number one for protecting the civilian population," faction co-chair Iryna Herashchenko said.

The Ukrainian deputy emphasized the importance of considering the bill before the budget process begins.

What the bill requires

The bill sets concrete standards for shelters. It defines mandatory requirements, such as drinking water, medicine, sanitation facilities, a designated responsible person, and placement within 10 minutes' reach of people.

The 10-minute rule is the core of it.

"Shelters must be where there are concentrations of people, so they can reach them in 10 minutes," MP Viktoriia Siumar said.

The bill also guarantees unimpeded access to shelters during martial law, requires regular inspections of their condition, strengthens accountability for their upkeep, and supports the expansion of the civil-defense network, including through modular structures.