Water supply has been cut off in Sumy Oblast on Oct. 20, said the oblast governor, Dmytro Zhyvytskyi. Electric public transports and street lights are not working either.
The governor added that if local businesses and private consumers "reduce electricity consumption (today), they will help Ukraine's energy system withstand and avoid blackouts in the future."
About 1 million people live in Sumy Oblast.
On Oct. 20, Ukrainians in all regions are urged to reduce their consumption of electricity from 7 am to 11 pm, with more regular blackouts a realistic scenario if it isn’t sufficiently lowered, according to Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the President’s Office.
On Oct. 18, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that 30% of Ukraine’s power stations had been damaged or destroyed by Russian strikes.