After a blistering series of Russian artillery strikes on infrastructure that started last month, workers were fanning out in around-the-clock deployments to restore key basic services as many Ukrainians were forced to cope with only a few hours of electricity per day.

Early Saturday, the Kyiv municipal administration said water connections had been restored throughout the city but that about 130,000 residents remain without electricity.

A barrage of missiles has struck the recently liberated city of Kherson in a marked escalation of attacks since Russia withdrew two weeks ago.

Russian officials have claimed they are hitting legitimate targets. But the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights on Friday expressed his shock at the depth of civilian suffering caused by the bombing, amid broader allegations of abuses.

In some of the worst-hit cities, there is little officials can do other than to urge residents to flee – raising the risk of economic collapse in Ukraine and a spillover refugee crisis in neighboring European countries.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko posted on Telegram that ‘one of the capital’s infrastructure facilities has been hit.’

Russian strikes have pummeled Ukraine in an onslaught that has caused widespread blackouts and deprived millions of Ukrainians of electricity, heat and water.

The liberation of the area marked a major battlefield gain, while the evacuations now highlight the difficulties the country is facing following heavy Russian shelling of its power infrastructure as winter weather sets in.