By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukraine on Sunday said that more than 1,000 buildings in the country’s capital Kyiv still remain without heating following large-scale airstrikes earlier this week, which, according to local authorities, left half of the city without access to heating supply.

“More than 1,000 buildings in the capital remain without heating. Heat supply has been restored to the rest of the area. Water supply, which had been interrupted in some areas, has been restored to all residents,” Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram.

Expressing that efforts to restore heating to the residents are ongoing, Klitschko said the situation regarding energy supply in Kyiv remained “very difficult,” while noting that the operation of heat and water supply companies depends on electricity.

He further said that severe frosts will not recede in the coming days based on forecasts, stating that the “difficult” situation in the capital will continue as a result.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko wrote separately on US social media company X that heat and electricity supply in Kyiv were restored in “record time” in spite of the scale of the damage caused by the strikes.

“However, due to objective constraints, scheduled and emergency outage schedules remain in place. Significant improvement in Kyiv will require time; we are targeting this coming Thursday,” Svyrydenko added.

On Friday, an overnight Russian strike on the Ukrainian capital killed at least four people and injured 25 others, while also causing disruptions in energy and water supply due to damage to critical infrastructure.

Klitschko said following the attack that half of Kyiv’s apartment buildings, which he said amount to nearly 6,000, lost access to heating, appealing to residents, if possible, to temporarily leave the city.

Russia confirmed the overnight attack, saying it carried it out in response to a drone strike by Ukraine on President Vladimir Putin’s residence in the country’s northwestern Belgorod region late last year.

Kyiv has denied the claim, arguing Moscow’s accusations seek to "undermine all achievements of our shared diplomatic efforts" with US President Donald Trump's team and "justify additional attacks against Ukraine."