The mayor of Kyiv, Vitaliy Klitschko, said that residents should be prepared to leave the city if there is a total loss of power.

Russian attacks on energy facilities in Ukraine over recent days have led to a nationwide blackout in the country.

Some 40% of Ukraine's energy infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed by Russian attacks on power plants and lines, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

In an interview to Ukrainian television, Mayor Klitschko described Russia's targeting of infrastructure as terrorism and genocide.

“Russia's terrorist attacks on Ukrainian cities and towns have been going on for the ninth month. Now the aggressor is trying to destroy the critical infrastructure of our state in order to leave Ukrainians without light, heat, and water in winter,” Klitschko said in a statement on Telegram.

“But the enemy is insidious and cynical. Russia is committing genocide - in particular, by trying to cause a collapse in the energy sector of Ukraine. Utility workers and energy workers concentrate and promptly eliminate damage to networks, and do everything to ensure that residents have critical services.”

“But we have to be ready for various options for the development of events, although we hope that the worst will not happen,” he added. (ILKHA)