Power and water facilities have been severely damaged.

In the latest incident of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian military has launched attacks on several critical utilities in Ukrainian cities. In Zhytomyr and Dnipro, both located near Kyiv, both electrical stations and water distribution utilities have been severely damaged, if not outright destroyed. This has disabled power and water for large swaths of both cities.

As winter approaches, the loss of these utilities becomes a much more pressing concern. Local authorities, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, are urging residents to prepare for what could be a severe season.

“Everyone should be ready, first, to save electricity, and second, rolling power blackouts are also possible if strikes continue,” said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of the president’s office.

“The entire population needs to prepare for a tough winter.”

Following its repeated setbacks in the heart of the battlefield in recent months, Russia has become more willing to strike directly at civilian resources, even if they aren’t near the front line.

“We were expecting that Russia will intensify attacks on energy infrastructure and civilian infrastructure and increase the urban warfare towards autumn – and here we are exactly with that scenario taking place,” Ukrainian MP Lesia Vasylenko told the BBC.

The Ukrainian government is calling on its allies to supply them with air defense missiles in order to protect themselves from both Russia’s own missiles and the numerous “kamikaze” drones that Russia has been deploying.