MOSCOW, March 22. /TASS/. The Russian Armed Forces have launched retaliatory strikes against facilities in Ukraine in response to the shelling of Russian territory. Energy and military industry facilities, railway junctions and arsenals were attacked, the Russian Defense Ministry told reporters.
Ukraine is experiencing Internet outages, with a number of regions remaining without power. The Dnieper Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP), the country's largest, has been shut down.
A day earlier, explosions were heard in Kiev, where two businesses had been hit, as well as in the Zhitomir Region.
TASS has gathered the key facts about the series of explosions in Ukraine.
Retaliatory strikes
- The Russian Defense Ministry has reported a massive strike with long-range precision weapons and drones on key facilities in the Ukrainian energy sector and military industry, as well as railway junctions, arsenals and locations where Ukrainian military personnel and foreign mercenaries are deployed. The ministry emphasized that "all the goals of the massive strike have been achieved."
- According to the ministry, production operations have been disrupted at Ukrainian enterprises engaged in making and repairing military equipment and ammunition. In addition, foreign military equipment and ordnance delivered by NATO countries were destroyed, transfers and rotations of Ukrainian reserves were disrupted, and military units "in areas where combat capability was restored" were hit.
- From March 16 to 22, the Russian Armed Forces retaliated against Ukraine for the shelling of Russian territory with a total of 49 strikes using missiles, including the Kinzhal complex, and drones. Their targets included decision-making centers, airfields, production facilities and warehouses.
Explosions at the Dnieper HPP
- The Dnieper Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP), the largest in Ukraine, has been shut down due to explosions. One of its units, HPP-2, is "in critical condition," according to plant officials. The plant’s turbine room and electrical equipment have been destroyed.
- Ukrhydroenergo Director Igor Sirota called the scale of the damage "very large," but said it would be difficult to estimate how long it would take to eliminate the consequences. He gave assurances, however, that there was no threat of a dam breach.
- The Ukrainian National Ecological Center said that oil products had leaked into the Dnieper River.
- Vladimir Rogov, chairman of the We Are Together With Russia movement, told TASS that the explosions occurred in the turbine room at the HPP-2 and on the crest of the dam.
- Traffic on the road crossing over the Dnieper dam has been blocked.
Geography of explosions
- An air raid alert was declared at about 5:30 a.m. Moscow time (2:30 a.m. GMT) in 14 regions and encompassed all of the country’s 20 regions and Kiev by 5:45 a.m.
- The alarm was partially canceled only by 9:30 a.m. Moscow time (6:30 a.m. GMT). In some areas, it lasted 7.5 hours.
- Reports came in about explosions in Dnieper (formerly Dnepropetrovsk), Ivano-Frankovsk, Kiev, Krivoi Rog, Kropivnitsky (formerly Kirovograd), Sumy, Kharkov, Khmelnitsky and the Kiev-controlled city of Zaporozhye.
Consequences of explosions
- Generating facilities and power transmission and distribution systems were damaged in various regions of Ukraine, Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko said.
- Power company Ukrenergo reported that dozens of energy system facilities have been damaged, with the most severe situation occurring in the Dnepropetrovsk, Kirovograd, Odessa and Kharkov regions.
- Ukraine’s DTEK energy holding company has reported major damage to equipment at the country's thermal power plants, without specifying which TPPs it was referring to.
- Damage to critical and industrial infrastructure was reported in the majority of Ukraine's regions, both in the east and center of the country, as well as in its western regions.
- The country is experiencing widespread Internet disruptions, particularly in Vinnytsia, Dnieper, Kharkov and Khmelnitsky.
- Electricity is out in almost the entire city of Kharkov, as well as in many districts of Dnieper, Krivoy Rog, Kropivnitsky, Khmelnitsky and neighboring cities. Starokonstantinov, Khmelnitsky Region, near where a military airfield is located, is also blacked out.
- Kharkov is also experiencing problems with water supply and communications, including telephone communications. Railway operations have switched over to diesel locomotives; electric-powered modes of transport have shut down.
- Naftogaz of Ukraine reported damage to the company's facilities. According to Naftogaz CEO Alexey Chernyshev, the matter concerns "localized damage to the gas pipeline and disconnection of facilities from the power supply."
Reaction of neighboring countries
- The Polish armed forces warned residents of Poland about noise on the border with Ukraine due to the airborne aircraft of Poland and its allies. Warsaw attributed the work of the air force to "increased activity of Russian long-range aviation."
- Ukraine has welcomed emergency assistance from Poland, Slovakia and Romania.