If Kyiv loses power completely, the city will urge its around three million residents to evacuate, Kiev security chief Roman Tkatjuk told The New York Times.
– We realize that if Russia continues with these attacks, we could lose our entire electricity system.
Mayor Vitalij Klytjko emphasizes that everything is being done to prevent that from happening.
– But let’s be honest. Our enemies are doing everything to prevent our city from having access to heat, electricity or water. They simply want us to die, he says.
Hope to be able to warn
On Sunday, electricity was temporarily cut in Kyiv, Kharkiv and five more Ukrainian regions. The purpose of the measure is to relieve the electricity grid, which is severely damaged after Russia’s repeated bombings against the country’s electricity supply infrastructure.
The authorities in the capital expect to be able to warn the residents at least twelve hours in advance if the system were to crash.
At the moment, the situation is sustainable and there are no indications that a large number of people are fleeing Kyiv, according to security chief Roman Tkatjuk. However, it can happen quickly if the functions in the city that depend on electricity stop working.
The city is currently preparing 1,000 heating centers in, among other places, school buildings, which will also protect civilians from Russian attacks.