Rolling blackouts will be put in place in seven regions across Ukraine to keep the power grid from failing, Ukraine’s national energy utility said on Saturday, after repeated waves of Russian aerial bombardment targeting infrastructure have debilitated the system and left it in danger of collapse.

Given that electricity is necessary for keeping most essential services running, local governments have been stepping up efforts to prepare for any extended loss of power, even as Ukraine’s allies vowed in recent days to speed up the delivery of air defence systems to help ward off further Russian strikes on Ukraine’s power infrastructure.

Kyiv, the capital, is also preparing more than 1,000 heating shelters that can double as bunkers for civilians. Emergency workers there are preparing for all scenarios, including a complete blackout that would prompt an evacuation of the capital, where some three million people live, Roman Tkachuk, the director of security for the city’s government, said in an interview.

“We understand that if Russia continues such attacks, we may lose our entire electricity system,” he said on Friday. “That’s why we are preparing for a cold winter.”

More than 40 per cent of the nation’s critical energy infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed by Russian strikes, Ukrainian officials say. Utility officials have warned that replacement equipment will cost hundreds of millions of dollars and is hard to source.

In Kyiv, most of the heating shelters are being set up in educational facilities, the exact locations of which the authorities asked not to be revealed since they fear making the man easy target.

In one school, the basement has been stocked with pallets of bottled water, makeshift classrooms have been set up, and a fire truck was stationed in a courtyard just outside the auditorium.

Just across the hall from disaster preparedness kits was a reminder of the sense of normalcy the school once enjoyed: a large standing poster of Minnie Mouse.

On Friday, a Russian missile hit a facility run by the distributor that is responsible for bringing power from the grid to people’s homes in Ukraine.

New York Times News Service