Minister: If Russia seeks to destroy Zaporizhzhia's Dnipro Dam, attacks will continue
Russia may launch new attacks against Zaporizhzhia's Dnipro Dam if it aims to destroy the dam itself, not only its power plant, Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said on air on March 23.
The Dnipro Hydroelectric power plant, Ukraine's largest hydroelectric station, was hit with eight Russian missiles on March 22 during the biggest attack on the country's energy infrastructure since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
The Hydroelectric Power Station-2 (HPS-2), one of the two stations of Zaporizhzhia's Dnipro Hydroelectric Power Plant, is in critical condition following the attack. The dam itself suffered damage as well, but officials said there is no danger of a breach.
"It is necessary to understand whether it was a deliberate strike against the dam or whether it simply... (aimed at) the hydroelectric station," Halushchenko said.
"If it was a deliberate attack targeting the dam itself, these attacks will repeat."
Situated on the Dnipro River just north of the Kakhovka Reservoir, the Dnipro Dam is 800 meters long and holds up a water reservoir of approximately 3.3 cubic kilometers.
Last year, Russian forces destroyed the Kahkovka Dam and the adjacent hydroelectric station located downstream of the Dnipro Dam, causing a humanitarian and ecological catastrophe across southern Ukraine.
The minister noted that the mass attack against Ukranie's power grid with over 150 missiles and drones was meant to cause a total blackout in the country.
Halushchenko reiterated that it was the largest attack against the country's power grid "in history," noting that the most extensive attack during the autumn and winter of 2022-2023 employed around 100 projectiles.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
