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Ukrainian officials say the country's power grid was badly damaged in a sweeping Russian attack on infrastructure. Meanwhile, Ukraine targeted fuel depots in two Russian regions. DW has the latest.
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Energy provider DTEK said Ukraine's skies needed to be closed before winter, and damaged facilities repairedImage: Evgeniy Maloletka/AP/picture allianceWhat you need to know
Russia's latest attack struck a Ukrainian power plant and several other energy facilities overnight into Thursday.
The barrage is the latest in a series of strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure that have caused widespread outages and scheduled rolling blackouts.
Operators say the thermal power plant that was hit has been repeatedly targeted by Moscow's forces.
Meanwhile, Ukraine launched a drone attack on fuel depots in southern Russia.
Here are the latest developments from Russia's war in Ukraine on Thursday, June 20:
06/20/2024June 20, 2024
Russia hits thermal power plant, Ukraine says
A barrage of Russian missiles and drones hit a Ukrainian thermal power plant and other energy facilities overnight, further stretching Ukraine's already depleted electricity grid, Ukrainian authorities said.
The targeted attacks in recent months have drastically reduced Ukraine's capacity to generate electricity, with rolling blackouts introduced and power imported from neighboring European Union nations.
"The enemy attacked a number of energy infrastructure facilities," Ukraine's Energy Ministry said, adding that the Russian projectiles targeted power infrastructure in four regions, including the capital, Kyiv.
The ministry said the attacks had cut power to more than 218,000 consumers for a period on Thursday morning.
Ukraine's largest private energy company, DTEK, said the aerial attacks had caused "serious damage" at the plants, and that three of its employees had been wounded.
The company said it was the seventh mass attack on the thermal power plant in the last three months.
"We urgently need to close our skies or Ukraine faces a serious crisis this winter," DTEK's CEO Maxim Timchenko said. "My plea to allies is to help us defend our energy system and rebuild in time."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the barrages have halved generation capacity in his country, also urging allies to send more air defense systems.
Ukraine's state energy operator Ukrenergo on Monday announced further drastic restrictions on electricity supply in the coming weeks due to ongoing Russian attacks on the country's energy infrastructure. The impact of systematic Russian attacks on thermal and hydroelectric power plants might be made worse by the need for maintenance work at nuclear power plants and bad weather conditions.
Reconstruction of Ukraine's energy infrastructure crucial
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