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The Kyiv Independent’s contributor Ignatius Ivlev-Yorke spent a day with a mobile team from the State Emergency Service in Nikopol in the south of Ukraine as they responded to relentless drone, artillery, and mortar strikes from Russian forces just across the Dnipro River. Nikopol is located across from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the city of Enerhodar.

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Russia deals 'massive blow' to Ukraine's thermal power plants, energy company says

2 min read
Russia deals 'massive blow' to Ukraine's thermal power plants, energy company says
Illustrative purposes only: Electricians of the DTEK energy company restoring the power grid damaged by constant artillery and air strikes in a village near the frontline in the Donetsk region on July 23, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images)

Russia targeted DTEK's thermal power plants during a mass aerial attack on Dec. 13, damaging their equipment, the company said in a statement.

Moscow's forces launched around 90 missiles and 200 drones in one of its largest mass attacks on Ukraine's power grid as the winter is setting in.

"DTEK thermal power plants were attacked. According to preliminary data, there were no casualties," the company said. The plants' equipment was "seriously damaged," with energy sector employees already working on repairs.

The company does not usually reveal the location of the targeted plants or the full extent of damage due to security reasons.

Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast suffered its "most massive attack during the full-scale war," Governor Svitlana Onyshchuk announced. Cruise missiles and drones struck critical infrastructure facilities in the region, but no casualties were reported at the moment.

Energy facilities were targeted in Lviv Oblast, according to regional authorities. Neighboring Ternopil Oblast was also impacted, the regional military administration said without revealing details.

"There are no casualties. Critical infrastructure facilities are operating normally," the Ternopil Oblast authorities said on Telegram. Earlier in the morning, officials said that half of the region's residents were without power due to emergency shutdowns.

This is the 12th mass attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure this year and the ninth that targeted DTEK's facilities. Russia previously launched a large-scale strike on critical infrastructure on Nov. 28, following a prolonged bombing campaign over the summer and the spring.

Russia launches one of largest attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid
Russia launched a large-scale aerial attack against Ukraine early on Dec. 13, firing missiles across multiple regions.
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Martin Fornusek

Senior News Editor

Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.

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