JAKARTA - President Volodymyr Zelensky said a lack of air defense missiles meant that Ukraine was unable to thwart a Russian attack that hit the largest power plant in the capital Kyiv region last week.
Destroyed by the March 11 attacks, the Trypilska thermal power plant was the largest energy facility near Kyiv and was built with a capacity of 1,800 megawatts, more than Ukraine's largest city needed before the war. Other power plants and imports have filled the gap for now, but residents have been urged to save electricity.
"There were 11 missiles flying. We destroyed the first seven, and the four (the remaining) destroyed Trypillia. Why? Because there were no missiles. We ran out of missiles to defend Trypillia," he said in an interview with PBS, reported by Reuters April 16.
President Zelensky's comments, which come after his government's repeated warnings to allies about air defense shortages, reflect the dire situation Ukraine is experiencing as Russia steps up attacks on its energy systems.
Reuters could not independently verify the report. President Zelensky himself has previously warned that Ukraine will have to make tough choices about what to protect, saying his country could run out of missile defenses if Russian attacks continue.
It is known that Russia has stepped up combined missile and drone attacks targeting Ukraine's power grid system since mid-March.
This was the second attack by Russia on energy systems since Russian forces invaded Ukraine more than two years ago, proving to be far more devastating than the first attack.
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In the recent attacks, Ukraine lost approximately 7 gigawatts of power generation capacity, and its main thermal power plant and transmission capabilities were badly damaged.
Moscow said the attack was aimed at reducing Ukraine's ability to fight and was in retaliation for recent attacks in Russia.
Separately, Western allies have been reluctant to send additional air defenses to Ukraine, stating that Ukraine needs 25 Patriot systems to cover its territory properly. However, Germany has promised to send another system following an urgent request from Kyiv.
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