As Russian forces on the ground continue to press on the city of Bakhmut, the Kremlin launched a massive aerial attack on Ukrainian urban centers and civilian infrastructure. It resulted in multiple power cuts across the country while it also halted the supply of energy from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.
The attacks, which targeted critical infrastructure and residential buildings in 10 regions in the early hours of Thursday morning, was the largest such attack in three weeks. Russia was reported to have launched 81 missiles along with eight Iranian-made Shahed drones, which can carry an explosive to a target. Ukraine has claimed that it was able to intercept 34 of the missiles and four of the drones.
However, at least six Ukrainians were killed in the attacks.
“The occupiers can only terrorize civilians. That’s all they can do,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an online statement.
The strikes left almost half of Kyiv’s residents without heat, while Kharkiv was left without running water or heat. In addition, trolleybus and tram service in Ukraine’s second-largest city was disrupted after 15 missiles hit the region.
Aerial Terror Campaign
After failing to secure its objectives in the early stages of the war, and then being pushed back on a number of fronts by Ukrainian forces, Moscow began to target Ukraine’s power supply last October as an apparent attempt to demoralize the civilian population and force Kyiv to negotiate for peace.
However, since the beginning of the year, the attacks have been far less frequent – and some military analysts have speculated that Russia may be running low on the ordnance required to maintain such attacks.
The last major bombardment was on February 16.
Moscow has said that attacks were carried out after Kyiv was plotting a “terror attack” in the pro-Russian separatist region of Transnistria in neighboring Moldova.
“In response to the March 2 terrorist actions organized by the Kyiv regime in the Bryansk region, Russia’s Armed Forces dealt a massive retaliation strike,” the Russian Defense Ministry announced, adding that it had used its lauded Kinzhal hypersonic missile, The Moscow Times reported.
Nuclear Threat?
The Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, was once again cut off from the country’s electricity grid as a result of the Russian missile attack.
The plant is currently running on 18 diesel generators according to Ukraine’s state nuclear energy company Energoatom and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog.
The IAEA said eight of the 20 diesel generators at the plant were providing “essential” power while the other generators are in standby mode. Via a statement, the watchdog warned that there is only enough diesel on site for 15 days of operation and that two out of the plant’s six reactors were shut down.
There is a serious risk posed by such shutdowns at the plant.
“Each time we are rolling a dice,” explained IAEA chief Rafael Grossi. “And if we allow this to continue time after time then one day our luck will run out.”
Author Experience and Expertise: A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
