Heavy snowfall is expected in Kyiv, with temperatures dropping below freezing day and night, as millions of people who still live in and around the Ukrainian capital remain with little electricity and heat.

Grid operator Ukrenergo said on Saturday electricity producers were able to cover only three-quarters of consumption needs, necessitating restrictions and blackouts across the country.

Sergey Kovalenko, chief operating officer of YASNO, which provides energy to Kyiv, said the situation in the city has improved but remained “quite difficult”.

He indicated residents should have at least four hours of power per day.

“If you haven’t had at least four hours of electricity in the past day, write to DTEK Kyiv Electric Networks, colleagues will help you figure out what the problem is,” Kovalenko wrote on his Facebook page.

YASNO is the retail branch of DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy provider.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said six million people were without power on Friday after the latest Russian bombardment last week, which inflicted the worst damage so far on Ukraine, leaving millions of people with no light, water or heat.

Russia says it does not target the civilian population, while the Kremlin said Moscow’s strikes on energy infrastructure are a consequence of Kyiv being unwilling to negotiate.

In a rare public spat involving Ukrainian leaders, President Zelensky on Friday criticised the mayor of Kyiv for what he said was a poor job setting up emergency shelters to help those without power and heat after Russian attacks.

Ukrenergo said blackouts will continue and urged limited use of power.

“We would like to remind you that now every Ukrainian whose home has had electricity restored can help restore it to others faster, simply by consuming electricity sparingly,” it said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.

Snow is expected to continue in Kyiv, a city that had 2.8 million residents before the war, until midweek while temperatures are forecast to stay below freezing.

– AAP