Ukraine announced on Thursday that a massive missile and drone attack destroyed the largest power plant in the Kyiv region.
The Ukrainian energy company Centrenergo reported that the Trypilska Thermal Power Plant (TPP), which was the biggest electricity supplier to the Kyiv, Cherkasy, and Zhytomyr regions, has been completely destroyed, reported CNN.
Ukrainian air defenses purportedly managed to shoot down 18 missiles and 39 drones of the 82 missiles and drones Russia launched. Six hypersonic Kinzhal missiles were part of the barrage, all of which struck their targets.
“The scale of the destruction is terrible. Money can’t estimate it. This is the biggest challenge for us in the history of the company,” Centrenergo said in a statement, per CNN.
It was the third power plant the company has lost in recent months. In March, a Russian air attack destroyed a power plant in the Kharkiv region, while Russian troops captured another in the Donetsk region in July 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Western nations of “turning a blind eye” to the needs of Ukraine in its war against Russia.
“All of our European neighbors and other partners see Ukraine’s critical need for air defense systems,” Zelenskyy said, according to CNN. “We need air defense systems and other defense assistance, not just turning a blind eye and having lengthy discussions.”
Zelenskyy added that allowing Russian aggression against its energy infrastructure to continue would amount to “a global license for terror.”
Ukraine’s largest power supplier, DTEK, noted that Russian airstrikes have caused it to lose 80% of its power generation capabilities. The company supplies about 20% of the nation’s power.
U.S. aid to Ukraine has faltered recently as Republican members of the House of Representatives demand action at the southern border with Mexico before additional taxpayer money is spent on Ukraine. The Council on Foreign Relations stated that the Biden administration and Congress have provided $75 billion in aid to Ukraine, which includes humanitarian assistance and military armaments.
The Senate recently passed a foreign aid bill that would spend additional taxpayer money on supporting Ukraine, but the bill stalled in the House. After promising a vote on the bill, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was confronted with calls within his own party for his ouster, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. He has not yet brought the bill to the floor for a vote, and it is not clear if or when the package will get one.
