Kyiv's water and heating systems are back on as engineers scrambled to stabilise a power grid brought to the brink by a campaign of Russian strikes.
Heat and water infrastructure have also been heavily affected in recent weeks, an increasing concern with temperatures already below minus 10C, and set to plunge further in the coming week.
The city administration said around noon local time that the state grid operator Ukrenergo had ordered the city's power system to be shut down, and that the water and heating systems, as well as electrified public transport, would also stop working as a result.
Less than an hour later, Ukrenergo said engineers had managed to remedy the immediate issue, which had been caused by damage from previous Russian strikes, and that power was coming back online in parts of Kyiv.
Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said the heating system, which in Ukrainian cities is centralised and pumps hot water to homes in pipes, was also coming back on, and that she expected heat supply to be fully restored today.
However, she said that the power situation in the capital was still difficult, as the grid was badly damaged and people were using more electric heaters because of the cold.
Yesterday, about 6,000 of Kyiv's apartment blocks were left without heating after the latest Russian missile and drone attack, as bitter cold set in.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said half of those blocks had heat supply restored by today before it was shut off again due to the power grid problem.
Temperatures in most of Russia and Ukraine have been well below freezing in recent days.
The governor of Russia's Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, has said that 600,000 residents were without electricity, heating and water after a Ukrainian missile strike.
In a statement posted on Telegram, Vyacheslav Gladkov said that work was under way to restore supplies, but that the situation was "extremely challenging".
Footage filmed by Reuters in Belgorod city showed street lights extinguished and locals finding their way using hand-held torches and car headlights.
Belgorod region, which adjoins Ukraine's Kharkiv region and had a pre-war population of 1.5 million, has come under regular attack from Ukraine's forces since Russia ordered tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022.
Russia has frequently bombarded Ukraine's power infrastructure, causing rolling daily blackouts, and has also targeted heating systems this winter..
The UN Security Council will meet on Monday to discuss Ukraine.
Ukraine's request for the emergency UNSC meeting was supported by six members, France, Latvia, Denmark, Greece, Liberia and the United Kingdom, diplomatic sources told AFP.
