KYIV (Reuters) – Blasts were heard in Kyiv and parts of the city were left without power early on Monday after Ukraine’s air force put the whole country under air raid alerts following the launch of Russian missile attacks.

“The air alert is related to the launch of cruise missiles from Tu-95MS strategic bombers,” the air force said on their Telegram channels.

Reuters’ witnesses reported hearing blasts in Kyiv in what sounded like air defence systems in operation. Parts of Kyiv were also without power, witnesses reported, after Ukrainian media reports of emergency blackouts in several regions due to the attack.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Sergiy Karazy and Gleb Garanich and Olena Hermash in Kyiv; Writing by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Sonali Paul)