Nuclear plant disrupted in Russian onslaught on energy infrastructure
Russia launched one of its largest missile attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure over Thursday night and yesterday morning, temporarily cutting the energy supply to the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. Five deaths and dozens of injuries were reported after Russia fired 151 missiles and drones at targets across the country, Ukrainian officials said. They claimed to have shot down 92 – an unusually low proportion that some analysts attributed to depleted air defences.
The strikes caused blackouts in seven regions, leaving a million people without power, according to local authorities, including in Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, close to the northern border with Russia. Blackouts were also reported in the southern territory of Zaporizhzhya, which is partly occupied by Russia. The Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant (ZNPP) was disconnected from its main off-site power line, the International Atomic Energy Agency said.
The ZNPP, which is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and
among the 10 largest in the world, remained operational by means of a back-up power line.
The main power source was later restored, according to the Russian authorities controlling the plant. Russian troops have controlled the ZNPP since March 2022, with its Ukrainian workers at the plant believed to be held at gunpoint. President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared to blame allies, with key backers such as the US struggling to pass new support packages. “There are no delays in Russian missiles like there are in assistance to our country,” he wrote on Telegram.
In total, Russia launched eight missile attacks on Zaporizhzhya city on Thursday night, damaging both infrastructure and civilian homes, according to Ivan Fedorov, head of Zaporizhya Oblast Military Administration.
Another strike hit Ukraine’s largest dam, the Dnipro Hydro Electric Power Plant – also in Zaporizhzhya – but Ukrainian authorities said there was no risk of a breach. Ukraine’s energy minister, Herman Halushchenko, said the attack was one of the largest on energy infrastructure. “The goal is not just to damage, but to try again, like last year, to cause a large-scale failure of the country’s energy system,” he said. Widespread blackouts were reported in Kharkiv, where local authorities said even traffic lights were not functioning.
Ukraine’s largest private energy firm, DTEK, said several of its facilities had been hit.
In the western region of Khmelnytskyi, Ukrainian media reported that one person had been killed and several more injured by a Russian attack that damaged infrastructure.