Damaged pipelines in war-torn eastern Ukraine are threatening to cut off water, heating and electrical supplies at a time when temperatures are plunging, putting some 700,000 children at risk, UNICEF warned on Friday.

The UN children's agency pointed out that central heating systems and much of the ­electrical supply in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, under the rebel control, rely on water, but that the water flow is being hampered by damaged pipelines and infrastructure, as well as debris from destroyed bridges.