BERLIN, December 30. /TASS/. There are currently 3.6 mln people in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev at the moment, which is only 200,000 less than before the start of Russia’s special military operation, the city’s Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said.

"There were 3.8 million people here before the war, the number dropped to one million in March and rose to two or 2.5 million in July. It currently stands at 3.6 million, including 300,00 registered refugees from other regions of the country. The city is packed," he pointed out in an interview with Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine.

The Kiev mayor explained that the authorities estimated the number of people in the city based on the number of operating mobile phones. Klitschko added that "almost every apartment" had water and heating. "Electricity shortages stand at about 50%. We sometimes cut the power supply to one district to provide supplies to another, and the other way around," the Kiev mayor noted, adding that the situation was "difficult but under control."