Ukraine’s largest nuclear power plant hit again by latest wave of deadly Russian attacks

Russia launched a new wave of brutal missile attacks in Ukraine overnight, knocking out power to much of the country, killing civilians and targeting its largest nuclear power plant.

Ukraine said Moscow fired about 81 rockets on Wednesday night, the biggest attack since late January, when 11 people were killed in multiple attacks.

Zaporizhzhia, home to the country’s largest nuclear power plant, was also hit, sparking international fears of the potential for a dangerous nuclear explosion.

Meanwhile, Russian forces continue to focus on the eastern town of Bakhmut, which has turned into a grueling battleground in recent months and is completely without electricity, gas or water.

After the biggest attack since the so-called “special military operation” entered its second year, here’s what you need to know.

The Kremlin decided to focus its attacks on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure five months ago, and has stepped up its front-line crackdown over the winter.

While spring means the weather should improve, Russia doesn’t seem to have let up on airstrikes. Last night alone, he targeted 10 regions in his brutal attacks overnight.

Ukraine said it shot down 34 cruise missiles and four of eight Iranian-made Shahed drones launched overnight. There were reportedly 81 rockets in total, many of which hit residential buildings across the country.

Ukrainian officials say these included six hypersonic Kinzhal missiles (Reuters described this as an unprecedented number) that Kiev cannot shoot down.

These missiles can supposedly travel faster than the speed of sound and at low altitudes, making them difficult to track and even harder to stop. They can also carry a nuclear warhead.

Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said the attack “was like never before.”

According to local officials, at least five people were killed in a house in a village in the western region of Lviv and three in the southern city of Kherson.

Another died in the center of the Dnipro region and two others were injured by rocket fire.

The capital Kiev came under attack in its western and southern districts, leaving four out of 10 people without power following a seven-hour air raid alert, Russia’s longest air campaign to date.

The southern port city of Odessa was also hit, but no casualties were reported, although power was out. Fifteen rockets were also reported in Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, in the northeast.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said it had been a “difficult night”, even though power systems had been restored.

In a statement, he said: “The occupiers can only terrorize civilians. That’s all I can do. But it won’t help them. They will not shy away from responsibility for what they have done.”

Russia’s campaign is expected to reduce Ukraine’s fighting capacity, while Kiev has repeatedly accused Moscow of committing a war crime by targeting civilians.

Russian officials also said the blackout at the plant was a “provocation” by Ukraine.

The power grid of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was also hit in the missile attack by one of the hypersonic missiles.

This means that for the sixth time since Russia occupied the area in the early days of the war, the plant is not running on Ukraine’s electricity system, but on backup diesel generators that last just 10 days.

It is Europe’s largest nuclear missile facility and has been in Russian hands since the start of the war, sparking widespread fears of a nuclear disaster if it was hit by the fighting.

After the attacks, Russia said there was “no threat or danger of a nuclear accident” and that there was enough fuel to keep the plant running.

However, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, said he was “amazed by the complacency” when it came to attacks near the nuclear plant and warned that “one day the luck will run out”.

The eastern city has become the focal point of the war in Ukraine over the winter, with Russian forces desperate to secure it so Moscow can strengthen its claims over Donbas.

The West also suspects that the city has little value and that Russian generals are eager to give Putin his only victory in months.

Reports of what actually happens there have been mixed.

Ukraine says it has repelled Russian attacks on the city, but mercenaries from the Kremlin-linked Wagner group (which is leading the attack on Bakhmut) say they have taken control of its eastern half.

Ukraine should have backed out, but now seems keen to stay and fight back.

Commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, General Oleksandr Sirskiy, said: “The importance of keeping Bakhmut is constantly growing.

“Defending the city every day allows us to buy time to prepare reserves and prepare for future offensive operations. The enemy loses the best trained and most capable part of his army.”

Between 20,000 and 30,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in Bakhmut since the battle began last summer, according to Western officials’ estimates.

This type of missile attack could be Russia’s main means of attack in the near future, according to the US director of national intelligence.

Avril Haines said Russia may not be strong enough for new offensives, but President Vladimir Putin could prolong the war for years with these attacks.

He said: “We don’t expect the Russian military to recover enough this year to make major territorial gains, but Putin is very likely calculating that time is on his side and that prolonging the war, even with potential pauses in the fighting, is it might be the best thing left. the way to finally secure Russia’s strategic interests in Ukraine, even if it will take years.”

He suggested that Moscow may only be looking to consolidate its gains, but that it would need “compulsory mobilization and third-party sources of ammunition” to even sustain its level of operations in Ukraine.