(ANSA) - ROME, 05 NOV - An air raid alarm was launched throughout Ukraine this morning, with the exclusion of occupied Crimea. Authorities urged the population to stay in shelters warning of a missile threat across the country, Ukrainska Pravda reported.

Ukraine's national power grid operator, NEC Ukrenergo, introduced rolling blackouts in the capital Kyiv and seven regions of the country this morning, Ukrinform reported.

The measure went into effect at 6:00 a.m. local time (5:00 a.m. in Italy) in Kyiv and the regions of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Kharkiv, and Poltava.

The electricity system operator underlined that the blackouts would be modulated daily according to a schedule decided by local distribution network operators.

NEC Ukrenergo further explained that consumption caps are necessary to reduce peak loads on the grids and ensure sustainable balancing of the electricity system after Russian forces attacked the country's energy infrastructure by Russian troops. (ANSA).