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A shot-up soldier's monument in Zaporizhzhia: power outages in many places

Photo: Andriy Andriyenko / dpa

The worst Russian missile attacks in months have knocked out power supplies in several Ukrainian cities. A power line to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant was also interrupted. The Dniprovskaya high-voltage line failed on Friday morning, the power plant management of the power plant occupied by the Russian military in southern Ukraine said on Telegram. A replacement line ensures the power supply and there is no risk to the safety of the nuclear power plant, it said. Several energy facilities were also hit in other parts of Ukraine.

During the night there was an air alert in large parts of Ukraine. According to Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense forces, Russia fired cruise missiles from Tu-95 strategic bombers from the area around the Caspian Sea. Later, attacks with drones and ballistic missiles, including those of the Kinschal type, were also reported. Practically all parts of Ukraine were targeted.

According to official information, there were attacks against the energy grid in Mykolaiv, Zaporizhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Lviv and Sumy, among others. According to the mayor, there were around 15 explosions in Kharkiv alone. According to Ihor Terekhov, the attacks were aimed at destroying the city's electricity supply.

Bombing for the blackout

"The aim (of the attacks) is not only to damage the country's energy system, but to try again to cause a widespread outage, as was the case last year," Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko wrote on Facebook. He acknowledged multiple hits and blackouts in various regions. The power supply at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was also affected by the attacks, he also wrote.

The largest nuclear power plant in Europe was occupied by Russian troops in March 2022, shortly after the start of the war. To this day it remains in the frontline area and has come under fire several times. Because of safety concerns, the reactors were eventually shut down but still need to be cooled.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj wrote on Zelensky once again called on the West to support Ukraine in the fight against "the savages from Moscow."

mrc/dpa/Reuters