Russian strike severs power line to Ukraine nuclear plant

Russian strike severs power line to Ukraine nuclear plant
by AFP Staff Writers
Kyiv, Ukraine (AFP) Mar 22, 2024

A Russian strike Friday severed one of two power lines supplying Europe's largest nuclear power plant in southeast Ukraine as Moscow launched a major assault on energy infrastructure.

"The enemy is now carrying out the largest attack on the Ukrainian energy industry in recent times," Energy Minister German Galushchenko said on Facebook, adding that shelling had knocked out "one of the power transmission lines feeding" the Zaporizhzhia power plant.

The facility, Europe's largest nuclear energy site, was seized by Russian troops in the first days of the war but is powered by Ukrainian lines.

"This situation is extremely dangerous and risks sparking an emergency situation", said Ukraine's atomic energy operator Energoatom.

In the event that the final power line is cut, it said the plant will be "on the verge of another blackout, which is a serious violation of the conditions of safe operation of the plant".

Since the beginning of the war, the Zaporizhzhia power plant has suffered multiple blackouts, falling back on emergency diesel generators and safety systems.

"In case of their failure, a threat of a nuclear and radiation accident will emerge," said Energoatom.

According to Zaporizhzhia's governor, 12 Russian missiles hit the region early Friday, destroying several houses and injuring an unknown number of people.

"According to initial reports, seven houses were destroyed, 35 were damaged," Ivan Fedorov wrote on Telegram, adding that people had been injured.

Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian mayor of the city of Mariupol, under Russian control since 2022, said on Telegram that a Russian missile had hit a trolley in the Dnipro hydroelectric station, also in Zaporizhzhia, killing civilians travelling on it.

Oleksandr Symchyshyn, mayor of the western city of Khmelnytskyi, described "a horrible morning" with damage to infrastructure and residential buildings.

"There are victims and casualties among civilians," he wrote on Telegram.

Energy facilities were targeted by Russian missile, drone, and artillery strikes in multiple cities across Ukraine on Friday, including Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi,and Kryvyi Rig.

"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," said energy minister Galushchenko.

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