The government continues to ask citizens and businesses to reduce electricity consumption in the evening hours, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.

 "Today, I once again want to appeal to all Ukrainians to reduce electricity consumption in the evening hours. We are grateful to everyone who deliberately reduced electricity consumption yesterday and the night before yesterday. The total savings amounted to 10%. We also thank the mayors and heads of communities who took responsibility to reduce electricity consumption in communities," Shmyhal said at a government meeting on Wednesday.

 According to the Prime Minister, in order to avoid planned shutdowns, Ukraine must achieve a deliberate reduction in electricity consumption from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. across Ukraine by 25%.

 "Therefore, we appeal to businesses to engage in conscious consumption and to turn off external electric light advertising and other energy-consuming devices during the specified period. Such a responsible approach allows minimizing the use of blackout schedules," he said.