In the northeastern city of Kharkiv – Ukraine’s second largest – the attack left half a million people without water, electricity or heating in extremely cold temperatures, the regional governor said.
Ukrainians across the country were awakened by the sound of air raid alarms and told to take cover as the raids unfolded in the morning.
Residents of Kiev took refuge in subway stations, and one local woman told the Reuters news agency that she felt angry and scared.
“Of course, I want to be at home and celebrate, but we had to take shelter because it’s scary to stay at home,” said Sofia Litvinenko.
Another resident of Kyiv, Oleksandra, said that despite the attack, “Christmas was not cancelled.”
She told Reuters she planned to enjoy traditional Ukrainian food and drink with family and friends after it was safe to leave the shelter.
Ukrainian state power company Ukrenergo warned Ukrainians that power outages could last at least until the end of the day.
It has imposed usage restrictions while it tries to restore service.
