Ukrainians endured the first scheduled power outages since the war began and braced for more after Russian air strikes destroyed infrastructure

Kyiv’s forces pressed on towards the Russian-occupied city of Kherson.

The outages were the result of blackouts that hit several towns and villages in the east, as well as the capital Kyiv.

The curbs come as Ukraine is struggling to protect power generating facilities and other utilities from missile and drone strikes that appear designed to disrupt and demoralise as winter approaches.

People across the country were urged to use less power as the government enforced nationwide curbs on electricity usage between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m.

The first such restrictions since Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion included blackouts in several towns and villages in the east, as well as in Kyiv.