Ukraine’s Ministry of Health said on Tuesday that it has asked regional officials to consider suspending non-essential operations in hospitals until the country’s energy situation stabilizes, Reuters reports.

Eight waves of Russian attacks on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure in recent weeks have severely damaged the country’s power grid and led to emergency blackouts across the country.

Kyiv’s Ministry of Health said on Tuesday that hospitals continue to provide emergency medical care, but scheduled operations must be temporarily suspended to reduce the burden on the medical system due to the threat of further power outages.

“They (operations) will be carried out when the situation with electricity supply stabilizes,” his press release states.

However, the Ministry of Health emphasized that only a doctor can determine the degree of urgency of a medical procedure.

Ukrenergo, the operator of Ukraine’s electricity grid, announced on Tuesday that its staff would need several days to restore electricity supplies to levels before a new attack by Russian forces on Monday.

Last month, the Ukrainian government announced that all hospitals in the country were equipped with generators.

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