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© Reuters / Gleb Garanich
Kiev has turned off hot water throughout the city in an attempt to save gas for the winter months. The Ukrainian government is unsure how long people will be affected, or whether the measure will be enough to ensure winter heating.

Utility company Kievenergo cut gas supplies to all thermal power plants that warm the water supplied to households, adding that it received the order from the Ministry of Energy and Coal Mining. "All the thermal power plants have had their gas supply cut as of August 4," the company said.

General director Alexander Fomenko said the move was needed in order to save gas for the cold winter ahead.

Kiev has about 1.2 billion cubic meters of gas for heating, Itar-Tass reported. Head of utilities in Kiev, Dmitri Novitsky, noted that it is not enough to regularly supply gas during winter months. "If we don't start saving gas now, then we will have big problems in winter," Novitsky said.

Kiev's mayor Vitaly Klitschko said on Monday that all hot water provided by municipal boilers to Soviet-built apartment buildings will be turned off until at least October. "We are obliged to renounce hot water in order to save gas supplies for the winter. We hope for the understanding of Kievans," said Klitschko.

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© AFP Photo / Sergei SupinskyA man holds tires as Maidan self-defence activists clash with fighters of Kiev-1 volunteer battalion on Independence Square in Kiev on August 7, 2014.
Hot water is usually turned off in all older apartment buildings for pipe cleaning during the summer months. But this shutdown is estimated to last well into the fall and there are no guarantees that it will be enough to ensure a stable gas supply during the winter months.

Other cities across Ukraine plan to follow in Kiev's footsteps.

Those most affected by the shutdown will be millions of lower class families living in Soviet-built apartments that solely depend on a centralized energy supply.

Local media reported that 60 percent of Kiev is already without hot water and cautioned that the shutdown may translate into deep discontent for Kiev citizens.

Following the announcement of the shutdown, consumers reportedly rushed out to buy electric-powered boilers for their energy needs.