KIEV, December 19 (Sputnik) – The illuminations on administrative buildings, central streets and outdoor advertising must be switched off all around Ukraine to save electricity amid fuel shortages, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Friday.
19 December 2014, 12:32 GMT
Ukraine is experiencing a serious shortage of gas and fuel this winter due to its unsettled gas debt to Russia and the protracted civil conflict in the country's major coal-producing area Donbas.
"I demand that [energy] ministry and local administration bodies stop illuminating advertising, administrative buildings and central streets. When the whole country has plunged into darkness, certain regions continue illumination shows," he said.
Ukraine has been suffering a harsh economic downturn since it launched an attack on its eastern regions for refusing to accept the government put in power following February’s coup. To help recover its economy, Ukraine had to ask for international loans.
