Russian missiles target Ukrainian power plants

Kyiv, April 27

A Russian missile attack pounded power facilities in the centre and west of Ukraine on Saturday, mounting pressure on the ailing energy system as the country faces a shortage of air defences despite a breakthrough in U.S. military aid.

The strike using ballistic missiles and cruise missiles fired by Russian strategic bombers based in the Arctic Circle was the fourth large-scale aerial assault targeting the power system since March 22. “The enemy again massively shelled Ukrainian energy facilities,” said DTEK, the largest private electricity company, adding that four of its six thermal power plants had suffered new damage overnight.

In President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih, the supply of running water was disrupted after strikes on energy facilities in the central Dnipropetrovsk region, officials said. Ukrainian air defences were able to bring down 21 of the 34 incoming missiles, the commander of the air force said in a statement. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has called for more air defence supplies, faster deliveries and decisive actions from Kyiv’s allies. The US approved a major aid package for Ukraine this week, overcoming a congressional deadlock that dragged on for six months as Kyiv’s weapon stocks became depleted.

Meanwhile, Dmitry Medvedev, a senior security official, said Russia may respond to any US confiscation of its currency reserves frozen in the West by seizing the assets, including property and cash, of US citizens and investors in Russia.

The US House of Representatives has passed a Bill allowing the Biden administration to confiscate Russian assets held in American banks and transfer them to Ukraine, something the Kremlin has said would be illegal and trigger retaliation.

In response to Russia’s war in Ukraine, the US and its allies prohibited transactions with Russia’s central bank and finance ministry and blocked about $300 billion of sovereign Russian assets in the West, most of which are in European not American financial institutions. — Reuters

Ties with Beijing to continue: Kremlin

• The Kremlin has shrugged off a trip to China by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during which he raised concerns about Chinese support for Russia’s military, saying Moscow and Beijing will continue to develop their own ties.
• China has said that it has not provided weaponry to any party. However, it says that normal trade between China and Russia should not be interrupted or restricted.

Capacity affected

Ukraine has lost 80% of its thermal power generation and 35% of its hydroelectric capacity due to Russian attacks. Though the core of the energy system comes from nuclear power, that lost capacity serves a balancing function in the grid.

More supplies sought

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has called for more air defence supplies, faster deliveries and decisive actions from Kyiv’s allies. The US has already approved a major package for Ukraine this week, overcoming a congressional deadlock.