Russian attacks damage 80% of Ukrainian thermal power plants

Russian attacks have damaged 80 per cent of Ukraine's thermal power plants and half of its hydroelectric power stations in recent weeks, the Ukrainian energy minister said on Monday, denouncing it as "the biggest attack" on the country's energy sector.

"It can be said that up to 80% of thermal power generation was attacked, more than half of hydroelectric generation. And a large number of substations" of electricity transmission, minister German Galuchshenko told a news conference.

"This is the biggest attack on the Ukrainian energy sector," he added, referring to the wave of attacks, which continues almost daily and caused lengthy power outages in Kharkov, Ukraine's second largest city.

According to the minister, "the scale and impact" of this new wave of attacks "are much greater" than those of the Moscow-led campaign last winter, when millions of Ukrainians were deprived of electricity and heating despite freezing temperatures.

He noted that the Russian military had modified the drones and missiles used for these bombings, making them "even more dangerous".

Before the Russian invasion in February 2022, electricity production in Ukraine was relatively balanced between coal- and gas-fired power plants and nuclear power plants, with a smaller share of hydroelectric power.

The Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporiyia (south), located in the region of the same name and the largest in Europe, has been occupied by Russia since the beginning of the war and no longer produces electricity.