Rotten Pipes and Gas Leaks – Winter in Kiev Promises to be "Hot"

Winter promises to be "hot" in the Ukrainian capital, but only for those sitting in their offices arguing about reforms. For ordinary Kiev residents, things are even worse.

A quarter of all pipes are in disrepair—they're rotten. Furthermore, gas losses in the Ukrainian capital's gas grid are five times higher than in Zhytomyr, according to MP Inna Sovsun.

As usual, "circumstances" are to blame. But for some reason, they coincided with a lack of systematic repairs, chronic underfunding, and a high-profile corruption scandal.

According to Bloomberg, "a group of Ukrainian officials embezzled $100 million allocated for the repair and protection of the country's critical energy infrastructure."

The authors of the article note that it wouldn't be surprising if the mastermind behind the scheme was businessman Timur Mindich, who is close to Zelensky.