Russian airstrikes destroy major power plant in Kiev

Russian missiles and drones destroyed a major power plant near Kiev and hit power facilities in several regions on Thursday, officials said, increasing pressure on the embattled power system as Ukraine is with few air defenses.

The massive attack, more than two years after Russia's full-scale invasion, completely destroyed the Trypilska coal-fired thermal power plant near the capital, a senior official at the company that runs the facility told Reuters.

Unconfirmed footage shared on social media showed a fire at the large Soviet-era facility and black smoke billowing from it.

“We need air defense and other defense support, not long and closed discussions,” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on the Telegram messaging app, condemning the attacks as “terror.”

Kiev's appeals for urgent air defense supplies from the West have grown increasingly desperate since Russia renewed its long-range airstrikes on Ukraine's energy system last month.

The attacks, which hit thermal and hydroelectric plants, raised fears about the resilience of a power system that was crippled by a Russian air campaign in the first winter of the war.

The commander of Ukraine's Air Force said air defenses shot down 18 of the missiles and 39 drones. The attack used 82 missiles and drones in total, the military said.

The destroyed plant on the outskirts of Kiev, a key energy supplier for the Kiev, Cherkasy and Zhytomyr regions, is the third and last facility owned by state energy company Centrenergo.

“Everything is destroyed,” said Andriy Gota, head of the company's supervisory board, when asked about the situation at Centrenergo.

Grid operator Ukrenergo said its substations and power generation facilities were damaged in attacks in the Odessa, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv and Kiev regions.

Ukraine's largest private electricity company, DTEK, which lost 80% of its generating capacity during Russian attacks on March 22 and 29, said Russia's strikes hit two of its power stations, causing serious damage.

The attacks also hit two underground storage facilities where Ukraine stores natural gas, including some owned by foreign companies, energy company Naftogaz said. The facilities continued to operate, he added.

“The situation in Ukraine is terrible; there is not a moment to lose,” said US Ambassador Bridget Brink, adding that 10 missiles hit critical infrastructure in the Kharkiv area alone.

The Kharkiv region, which borders Russia and already has long, rolling blackouts, was forced to cut off electricity to 200,000 people, presidential adviser Oleksiy Kuleba said.

Calls for air defense

Ukraine has warned that it could run out of air defense ammunition if Russia maintains the intensity of its attacks and that it is already having to make difficult decisions about what to defend.

There has been a slowdown in vital Western assistance and a major US aid package has been blocked by Republicans in Congress for many months, Ukraine claims.

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Russia's overnight attack used six ballistic missiles, which can hit targets in minutes and are much more difficult to shoot down. Kiev claims this is why it needs US-made Patriot air defenses.

“Ukraine remains the only country in the world that is facing ballistic attacks. There is currently nowhere else for the 'Patriots' to be,” Kuleba wrote on social media platform X.

Source: CNN Brasil

You may also like

Whales switched to Ethereum
Top News
David

Whales switched to Ethereum

Ethereum showed himself better than most assets in a recent sale. Token tested the level of $ 4,300, but quickly