In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, an emergency worker extinguishes a fire after a Russian attack on the Trypilska thermal power plant in Ukrainka, Kyiv region, Ukraine, Thursday, April 11, 2024. A massive missile and drone attack destroyed one of Ukraine’s largest power plants and damaged others, officials said Thursday, part of a renewed Russian campaign targeting energy infrastructure.
They watched the plant burn, surrounded by dense smoke and engulfed in flames. “It’s terrifying,” said Gota. Hours later, rescuers were still dismantling the rubble. The Trypilska plant supplied electricity to 3 million customers - but none lost power because the grid was able to compensate since demands are low at this time of year. Still, the consequences of the strikes could be felt in the coming months, as air conditioning use ramps up with summer.
Ukraine’s largest private energy operator, DTEK, described the slew of strikes as one of the most powerful attacks this year, while Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko told reporters it was a “large scale, enormous, missile attack that affected our energy sector very badly.”