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DTEK: Russian strikes damage thermal power plant

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DTEK: Russian strikes damage thermal power plant
A coal supplies manager walks across the coal storage depot at the Luhansk thermal power station, operated by DTEK, in Schastia, Ukraine on March 5, 2015 (Vincent Mundy/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Russian forces attacked a thermal power plant operated by Ukraine's largest private energy company DTEK in the evening of Oct. 22, causing significant damage, the company said on Oct. 23.

The company did not report any casualties. Repair work began after the attack was over, DTEK said.

The company did not reveal the extent of the damage caused, nor where the power plant is located, presumably for security reasons.

Earlier on Oct. 2, Russia attacked DTEK warehouses in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, causing damage to cables, transformers, and other electrical equipment.

Russia has repeatedly attacked critical infrastructure across Ukraine since early October 2022, killing dozens of people and causing mass power outages across the country.

Moscow has admitted that Ukraine's energy system is one of its primary targets. According to the Geneva Convention, attacking vital public infrastructure constitutes a war crime.

As Ukraine braces for the inevitable uptick in Russian strikes against the energy grid in winter, preparations are being made to mitigate the damage and defend critical infrastructure.

Ukraine's allies have contributed resources to help the country prepare for the likely attacks.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on Oct. 16 said that the U.S. had allocated $522 million to purchase energy equipment for Ukraine and protect the country’s electricity infrastructure.

DTEK has also taken steps as well.  General director Ildar Saleyev  on Oct. 20 said that the company had imported over 38,000 metric tons of coal from Poland, part of the 210,000 metric tons the DTEK plans to import this winter to help ensure the stability of the company's power plants.

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Nate Ostiller

News Editor

Nate Ostiller is a former News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. He works on special projects as a researcher and writer for The Red Line Podcast, covering Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and focused primarily on digital misinformation, memory politics, and ethnic conflict. Nate has a Master’s degree in Russian and Eurasian Studies from the University of Glasgow, and spent two years studying abroad at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Ukraine. Originally from the USA, he is currently based in Tbilisi, Georgia.

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