Local residents stand in line to fill up bottles with fresh drinking water after critical civil infrastructure was hit by Russian missile attacks in Kyiv, Ukraine November 24, 2022. [Source: Reuters]

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday that Russia would surely launch new missile attacks on his country, and warned defence forces and citizens to be prepared to withstand a new week of strain on the power grid.

Snow fell in Kyiv and temperatures hovered around freezing on Sunday with fog forecast overnight.

City authorities said workers were close to completing restoration of power, water and heat, but high consumption levels meant some blackouts had been imposed. Millions in and around Kyiv were coping with disruptions caused by waves of Russian air strikes.

“We understand that the terrorists are planning new strikes. We know this for a fact,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address. “And as long as they have missiles, they, unfortunately, will not calm down.”

Zelenskiy said the coming week could be as difficult as the previous week, when attacks on electricity infrastructure subjected Ukrainians to the most acute power cuts since Russian troops invaded in February.

“Our defence forces are getting ready. The entire country is getting ready,” he said. “We have worked out all the scenarios, including with our partners.”

There was no immediate response from Moscow to Zelenskiy’s claims.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, Moscow has said it does not target the civilian population. The Kremlin said on Thursday that Kyiv could “end the suffering” of its population by meeting Russia’s demands.

Snow fell in Kyiv and temperatures hovered around freezing on Sunday with fog forecast overnight.

City authorities said workers were close to completing restoration of power, water and heat, but high consumption levels meant some blackouts had been imposed. Millions in and around Kyiv were coping with disruptions caused by waves of Russian air strikes.

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“We understand that the terrorists are planning new strikes. We know this for a fact,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address. “And as long as they have missiles, they, unfortunately, will not calm down.”

Zelenskiy said the coming week could be as difficult as the previous week, when attacks on electricity infrastructure subjected Ukrainians to the most acute power cuts since Russian troops invaded in February.

“Our defence forces are getting ready. The entire country is getting ready,” he said. “We have worked out all the scenarios, including with our partners.”

There was no immediate response from Moscow to Zelenskiy’s claims.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, Moscow has said it does not target the civilian population. The Kremlin said on Thursday that Kyiv could “end the suffering” of its population by meeting Russia’s demands.

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Russia annexed swaths of Ukraine’s east and south in September and President Vladimir Putin said Moscow’s territorial demands are non-negotiable. After the annexation Zelenskiy said he would not negotiate with Moscow and also insisted that Ukraine’s territorial integrity cannot be negotiated.

Sunday was relatively calm with no devastating attacks on Kyiv or other major cities. Ukraine’s central army command said Russian forces launched four missile attacks and fired multiple times on civilian objects in the Dnipropetrovsk region.

The situation, however, remained intense along front lines in various part of Ukraine, Zelenskiy said in his nightly address.

“The most difficult is in Donetsk region as has been the case in previous weeks,” he said.

The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said Russian troops had shelled a dozen villages in Donetsk, including the main targets of Bakhmut and Avdiivka.