Russia attacks Ukrainian electrical power grid

Ukrainian emergency workers at the site of a Russian air attack in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Pic/AP

Russia attacked electrical power facilities in much of Ukraine, including the country's largest hydroelectric plant, causing widespread outages and killing at least three people, officials said Friday.

Energy Minister German Galushchenko said the nighttime drone and rocket attacks were "the largest attack on the Ukrainian energy sector in recent times. The goal is not just to damage, but to try again, like last year, to cause a large-scale disruption of the country's energy system."

The attacks caused a fire at the Dnipro Hydroelectric Station, which supplies electricity to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe's largest nuclear power installation.

The main 750-kilovolt power line to the plant was cut off, International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Grossi said early Friday. A lower-power backup line was working.

The plant is occupied by Russian troops, and fighting around it has been a concern because of the potential for a nuclear accident.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever