Ukrainian authorities on Thursday announced a serious attack by a renewed Russian campaign against Ukraine's energy infrastructure, including missiles and drones that destroyed one of the country's largest thermoelectric plants and caused extensive damage to other plants.

Transformers, turbines and generators at the Trypilska plant were hit and destroyed several times, and the main power plant for Kiev, Cherkasy and Yidomir was engulfed in flames. Workers at the plant took shelter when the first attack drone approached, allowing them to stay alive, said Andriy Hota, director of the state company that manages the plant, Centernergo.

The plant was seen on fire, engulfed in thick smoke and engulfed in flames.

“It's terrible,” Hota declared. Rescue teams are still working to clear the debris after several hours.

The plant supplied electricity to three million customersBut still None of them were left without power because the network was able to compensate for the small demand at this time of the year. anyway, The effects of the attacks will be felt in the coming monthsDuring the summer season when the use of air conditioning is intensified.

At least 10 attacks overnight damaged energy infrastructure in Kargi, the country's second most populous city. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba He pointed out that more than 200,000 people are without electricity in the region, which has been hit by repeated attacks.

Ukraine's largest private energy operator, DTEK, It described the series of attacks as the most serious so far this yearEnergy Minister Herman Halushchenko told reporters, “This is a massive, large-scale missile attack that has severely affected our energy sector.”

Russia has recently renewed its attacks on Ukrainian energy facilitiesAnd last month much of the country was without electricity, a state of darkness not seen since the early days of a large-scale invasion in 2022.

The scale and precision of the attacks has alarmed the country's defenders and has authorities scrambling to find a better way to protect its energy assets. The attacks also tested Ukraine's ability to repair quickly.

The Ukrainian government has requested more anti-aircraft systems Prevent these types of attacks, but the goods are slow to arrive.

“Today's situation shows that we don't have anything to shoot down the missiles,” Hota lamented.

Associated Press writers Samya Gullab and Ilya Novikov contributed to this report from Kyiv, Ukraine.

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