Why Kyiv could not stop attack

Lack of air defence missiles prevented Ukraine from thwarting last week’s Russian missile attack that destroyed the biggest power plant in the region outside the capital Kyiv, says President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Zelensky’s comments, after repeated warnings from his government to its allies about inadequate air defences, reflect Ukraine’s dire situation as Russia steps up strikes on its energy system.

“There were 11 missiles flying. We destroyed the first seven, and four (remaining) destroyed Trypillia. Why? Because there were zero missiles. We ran out of missiles to defend Trypillia,” he said in the interview with PBS. Reuters could not independently verify this.

Zelensky warned earlier that Ukraine has had to make tough choices on what to protect. He said his country could run out of defensive missiles if Russian attacks continued apace.

Destroyed in a March 11 strike, Trypilska thermal power plant was the biggest energy facility near Kyiv. It was built to have a capacity of 1,800MW, more than the pre-war needs of Ukraine’s biggest city. Other stations and imports are filling the gap for now.

Russia has stepped up combined missile and drone attacks on Ukraine’s grid system since mid-March. This was Russia’s second concerted attack on the system since it invaded Ukraine, and it was worse than the first.

In recent attacks, Ukraine lost about 7GW of power generating capacity, with thermal power plants and transmitting capabilities damaged. Moscow says the strikes are aimed at degrading Ukraine’s ability to fight and are in retaliation for recent attacks in Russia. The West has been reluctant to send more air defences to Ukraine, which says it needs 25 Patriot systems to cover its territory properly. Germany has pledged to deliver another system after urgent calls from Kyiv.