It will take "years" to restore Zaporizhzhia's Dnipro Hydroelectric Power Plant, which was damaged following a Russian missile attack, the head of Ukrainian state-owned energy company Ukrhydroenergo, Ihor Syrota, said on March 25.
Ukraine's largest hydroelectric power plant was hit with at least six Russian missiles on March 22 during one of the biggest attacks 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, was in "critical condition" as several Russian missiles hit it directly, damaging crane girders and a support pillar, Syrota said earlier.
The adjacent dam also suffered damage, but there was no danger of a breach, according to Ukrhydroenergo's head.
As of March 25, it is impossible to dismantle all the rubble, and the first task is to demount the upper part of the engine room to get to the lower part, Syrota said. The plant is not currently generating electricity.
"We understand that the Dnipro Hydroelectric Power Plant will be knocked out for a long time... Based on the inspection we conducted, it is clear that it will take a lot of money and time to restore the station," Syrota said on national television.
Ukrhydroenergo's head said the loss of a part of the Dnipro Hydroelectric Power Plant generation capacity led to "significant loss for the Ukrainian energy system."
The recent Russian attack on Zaporizhzhia reportedly killed three people, including a child. At least 31 people were wounded, including two children, according to State Emergency Service.
Russian forces also targeted Kharkiv, Kryvyi Rih, and other regions, primarily aiming at the energy infrastructure. Around 190 missiles, 140 Shahed-type drones, and 700 aerial bombs were used over the past week, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on March 24.
Chris York
