Klitschko Invited to National Security and Defense Council Meeting; Dismissal as Head of Kyiv City State Administration May Be on Agenda

Klitschko said he would be "physically" unable to attend the meeting, and the Presidential Office advised him to "return to reality."

Kyiv Mayor and Head of the Kyiv City State Administration Vitali Klitschko received an invitation from the Office of the President on August 20 to take part in a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council. 

We look into why Klitschko may have been summoned and what would happen in the event of his possible dismissal as head of the Kyiv City State Administration.

Klitschko's reaction to the invitation to the NSDC meeting

The Kyiv mayor said that he received a call from the Presidential Office with an invitation to the NSDC meeting just two and a half hours before it was due to begin.

Klitschko only expressed regret that he "physically cannot attend," as after inspecting work on the Podilsko-Voskresenskyi Bridge, he had already allegedly left for a working trip of the Association of Ukrainian Cities to Chernihiv.

The reason for the invitation remains unknown. 

What was said in the Presidential Office

Presidential Office head adviser Mykhailo Podolyak sharply criticized the words of the capital's mayor.

Mykhailo Podolyak
adviser to the head of the Presidential Office

Mr. Klitschko, I will say ironically, is extremely creative and brave. One way or another, seeing Klitschko's comments about "inspecting work" on the Podolsky Bridge once again is extremely funny. As are any of his other comments regarding the work of the city's economy. What can he possibly be inspecting? How much money has been "siphoned off" today under the cover of this epoch-making project?

Podolyak called the reason for the mayor's absence stated only an "excuse": "The excuse of a trip to Chernihiv region for the sake of a minor PR task is just proof of how far the city government in Kyiv is from reality."

Podolyak also noted that two and a half hours "should have been enough" to return to Kyiv and get to the NSDC meeting. In conclusion, he advised the capital's authorities to "return to reality."

Mykhailo Podolyak
adviser to the head of the Presidential Office

In any case, Klitschko needs to return, first and foremost, to reality. PR and theft are definitely not things that should be engaged in by the head of the Kyiv City State Administration as one of the executive authorities.

What could have prompted the invitation of the mayor to the NSDC meeting

As is known, the Kyiv mayor is not a member of the NSDC and does not take part in votes at its meetings.

As NV reports, citing a source in the Presidential Office, Klitschko will be dismissed as head of the Kyiv City State Administration "with a 90% probability."

It is precisely this vote that could have been put on the agenda of today's National Security Council meeting.

Why the Kyiv mayor holds two positions and what removal from the post of head of the Kyiv City State Administration would lead to

Back in 2003, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine clarified that the mayor is the chief official of the territorial community of Kyiv and heads the executive body of the Kyiv City Council, the Kyiv City State Administration. Simply put, the court recognized that these two positions are inseparable.

A person is appointed to the post of Kyiv mayor following local elections, and only then does the President of Ukraine sign a decision appointing the sitting mayor as head of the Kyiv City State Administration.

In this specific case, removing Klitschko from the post of head of the Kyiv City State Administration would deprive him of actual power in Kyiv, as most of the capital's life is regulated precisely by the departments of the Kyiv City State Administration.

If this scenario unfolds, the Presidential Office could appoint a person from its inner circle to the post of head of the Kyiv City State Administration.