Ukraine fears power outages amid attacks

Missiles hit Kyiv, electricity cut to 100 households

KYIV, Ukraine — A Russian missile attack on Ukraine’s capital early Monday destroyed several homes and left more than 100 households without electricity.

The predawn attack on Kyiv came amid warnings that Russia will step up its attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure as winter sets in with freezing temperatures.

A series of loud explosions followed by air raid sirens broke the silence in Kyiv just after 4 a.m. as the city was under its nightly curfew.

Ukraine’s military said its air defenses intercepted all eight ballistic missiles. However, falling debris from rockets damaged homes on the ground, leaving one person wounded and three others suffering severe shock, officials said.

AP journalists witnessed some of the destruction in the district of Bortnychi on the southeastern outskirts of Kyiv.

A home under construction was ripped apart and nearby buildings were partially damaged, with gaping holes in the roofs and walls.

Victor Demchenko, the owner of the destroyed house, was clearing debris from his property, next to a crater about 16 feet deep in the backyard. Demchenko said he was in another part of the city when he heard the explosions.

“Then the neighbor called … and said all that is left of the house is a crater,” he said. “I didn’t believe him, so I took the car and drove here. Well, you can see it yourself, there is nothing to be found here.”

At another home about a mile away, Nadia Matvienko was lucky to escape uninjured when her home was damaged in the attack.

“It’s like I felt something. I couldn’t sleep all night, was turning in my bed back and forth. Then ‘bang, bang,’ we rushed to the hallway. Next thing we heard is the house being torn apart,” she said, wiping away tears as she sat in her home with shattered glass and damaged furniture strewn across the floor.