--- title: "Kyiv City Council denies the \"evacuation of 200,000 Kyiv residents\": only voluntary temporary relocation of certain individuals is planned for winter" description: "The KCMA stated that the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of Kyiv residents in winter is not planned: the issue is the voluntary temporary relocation of certain individuals. Officials called for not replacing terms with sensational headlines." date: 2026-09-02T15:58:00.000Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/kyiv-city-council-denies-evacuation-of-200000-residents-in-winter tags: [kyiv, kgha, winter-preparation, temporary-relocation, ukraine, evacuation] publisher: "XAB.info" --- # Kyiv City Council denies the "evacuation of 200,000 Kyiv residents": only voluntary temporary relocation of certain individuals is planned for winter ![Winter Kyiv at night: the illuminated Globus glass dome and pedestrians — the city prepares for cold without mass evacuation](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/02/kgha-oproverzhaet-evakuatsiyu-200-tysyach-kyevlyan-zimoj/kgha-oproverzhaet-evakuatsiyu-200-tysyach-kyevlyan-zimoj-1.webp) ## 🎯 Key Points - The KCMA stated that the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of Kyiv residents in winter is not planned. - The issue is the voluntary temporary relocation of certain individuals with their consent. - Deputy Head of the KCMA Marina Khonda called the phrasing "evacuation of 200,000 Kyiv residents" incorrect. - Last winter, more than 3,000 people refused temporary relocation. - In Donetsk Oblast, unlike in Kyiv, the forced evacuation of families with children is ongoing. The Kyiv City State Administration (KCMA) officially stated that the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of the capital's residents during the winter period is not planned. According to RBC-Ukraine, citing a KCMA statement, the authorities are considering other measures to prepare for the heating season, including targeted support for certain categories of citizens. Officials emphasized that the current work concerns the possible temporary relocation of certain individuals in the event of a crisis situation, rather than the mass removal of the population. ### Evacuation or temporary relocation: a dispute over terminology The KCMA called on both the media and citizens to use correct terminology, stressing that "evacuation" and "temporary relocation" are different procedures. Deputy Head of the KCMA Marina Khonda noted that it is incorrect to call the preparatory measures the "evacuation of 200,000 Kyiv residents," as this replaces the substance of the work with sensational headlines that could mislead people. In her words, the city, together with the district state administrations, will arrange places for temporary stay and announce this, along with the number of places and the conditions of stay, on the official KCMA pages. ### Voluntariness of the decision and last winter's statistics The key principle emphasized by the administration is voluntariness: relocation takes place exclusively with the consent of the person themselves or their legal representative. Khonda recalled that last winter more than 3,000 cases were recorded in which people refused temporary relocation even when a prepared place and transport were available. She also noted that the number of those who express a desire to relocate temporarily "may still change, in particular, during the heating season." For the majority of residents, according to the KCMA's assessment, the solution is not relocation but enhanced support at their place of residence. ### Contradictory data A notable discrepancy in versions persists in the public sphere. On the one hand, some media headlines feature the phrasing of an "evacuation of 200,000 Kyiv residents"; on the other — the KCMA directly refutes such a character of the measures, pointing to the voluntary temporary relocation of certain individuals, and the figure of those ready to relocate, according to the official, is still being formed and may change. Additional contrast is provided by the regional context: in Donetsk Oblast, according to sources, the forced evacuation of families with children is ongoing — 169 people were removed from 7 settlements in August, and about five hundred more remain. Thus, in Kyiv the administration insists on a voluntary model, whereas in certain frontline regions a forced character of removal is recorded, which makes comparing these practices in the same headlines methodologically incorrect. ### Broader context: curfew and other regions The KCMA's statement came against the backdrop of other decisions on winter preparation. It was previously reported that Ukraine plans to revise its approach to the curfew, and in Kyiv its duration will be shortened. At the same time, the Kherson Regional Military Administration urged residents not ready to fully leave to at least get through the autumn-winter period in safer regions. The totality of these measures indicates that the capital's preparation for winter is built around targeted support and voluntary relocation, rather than around mass evacuation. ## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification - [KCMA denies the "evacuation of 200,000 Kyiv residents" in winter, but data is being collected](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/kmda-sprostuvala-evakuatsiyu-200-tisyach-1788364020.html) - Единственный предоставленный источник; передаёт заявление КГГА и слова замглавы Марины Хонды. Цифры (более 3 тыс. отказов прошлой зимой, «200 тысяч» в заголовках) приведены как заявления/формулировки, а не как независимо верифицированные данные. ## ❓ FAQ ### Q: Is the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of Kyiv residents planned for winter? **A:** No. The KCMA stated that mass evacuation is not planned; the issue is the possible temporary relocation of certain individuals in a crisis situation. ### Q: Is temporary relocation in Kyiv voluntary? **A:** Yes, according to the KCMA, relocation takes place exclusively with the consent of the person themselves or their legal representative. ### Q: Why does the KCMA criticize the phrasing "evacuation of 200,000 Kyiv residents"? **A:** Deputy Head of the KCMA Marina Khonda called it incorrect, as it replaces the substance of the preparatory work and may mislead people; meanwhile, the number of those willing to relocate is still being formed.