Russia launched one of its largest missile attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure on Thursday night, temporarily cutting off energy supplies to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.
Ukrainian officials said Russia launched 151 missiles and drones at energy nodes across the country, reportedly killing two people and injuring dozens more, and claimed to have shot down 92 – an unusually low rate that some analysts Attribute this to the depletion of air defense systems.
The IAEA said the attack caused power outages in seven regions, affecting hundreds of thousands of people, including in the Russian-partially occupied territory of southern Zaporozhye, where the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) was disconnected from its main off-site transmission lines. .
ZNPP is Europe’s largest nuclear power plant and one of the top 10 in the world, and is kept running through backup power lines. Main power has now been restored, according to Russian authorities who control the plant.
Interrupting the power supply to a nuclear power plant can be dangerous. Ross Peel, research and knowledge transfer manager at the Center for Science and Security Studies at King’s College London, said attacks on power lines were particularly concerning “because cooling water pumps require reliable off-site power” and that the loss of any security system would result in serious consequences. as a result of. care.
Although Zaporizhia has a population of less than one million, it is one of the most important cities in the country for supplying electricity to Ukraine and has numerous power plants. It is estimated that the nuclear power plant alone can produce 20% of the country’s electricity.
total Russia launches eight missile attacks The attack took place in Zaporozhye Oblast on Thursday night, damaging infrastructure and civilian residences in the city, said Ivan Fedorov, head of the Zaporozhye Oblast Military Administration.
Zaporozhye City Council Secretary Anatoly Kurdyev added that early reports showed that two private houses were destroyed and seven others were damaged.
Russian troops have controlled the ZNPP since March 2022, and it is believed that Ukrainian workers at the plant were actually threatened at gunpoint while keeping the facility operational. Fighting often breaks out in the surrounding area.
In early March, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi said that a Russian air strike caused a fire at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.
Zelensky previously claimed in a televised speech that Russia’s attack on the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant could cause damage equivalent to “six Chernobyl accidents”, making it the worst nuclear accident in history.
Another Russian attack hit Ukraine’s largest dam, the Dnieper Dam (also in Zaporozhye), but Ukrainian authorities said there was no risk of a dam breach.
“There is currently a fire at the station. Emergency services and energy staff are working on site to deal with the consequences of multiple air strikes.” UkrHydroenerho, who runs Ukraine’s dam network, said.
Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said this was the largest attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in recent times.
“Our goal is not just destruction, but another attempt to cause a massive failure of the nation’s energy system, as we did last year,” he wrote on Facebook.
Ukrainian media reported that a Russian attack in the western Khmelnytsky region damaged critical infrastructure, killing one person and injuring many others.
Ihor Terekhov, mayor of the eastern city of Kharkiv, said traffic lights in Ukraine’s second-largest city were not working due to attacks on power facilities.
Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne reported that Russia launched a large-scale attack on energy facilities and attacked several thermal power plants, causing power outages across the country.
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