Authorities in Kyiv have begun planning the evacuation of about three million of the city's remaining residents in the event of a total power outage, The New York Times reports.
"40 percent of Ukraine's energy infrastructure is damaged or destroyed, with municipal workers building 1,000 heating shelters to use as bunkers while engineers try to fix bombed-out power plants without the necessary equipment.
To try to prevent a total grid failure, Ukraine's national energy company said Saturday that it would continue to impose rolling blackouts in seven regions.
The damage has forced officials to consider the possibility that further damage could make them unable to provide basic services.
We understand that if Russia continues such attacks, we could lose our entire electricity system," said Roman Tkachuk, director of security for the Kiev city administration.
Kyiv officials have been told that they will likely receive at least 12 hours' notice that the grid is on the verge of failure. If it comes to that, Tkachuk said, "we will start informing people and asking them to leave."
At least for now, the situation is manageable, and there are no signs that large numbers of civilians are leaving Kyiv, he said.
"If there is no electricity, there will be no water and no sewage," he said. "Therefore, the government and the city administration are currently taking all possible measures to protect the electricity system."
