MOSCOW, March 22. /TASS/. Ukraine's largest hydroelectric plant, the Dnieper HPP, has been shut down after a fire and damage, the plant's operator, Ukrhydroenergo, said.

"To date, the plant is not working,"Ukrhydroenergo director Igor Sirota said during a Rada TV broadcast.

The Dnieper HPP is located in the Kiev-controlled city of Zaporozhye and consists of two plants: HPP-1 and HPP-2. "As of today, the plant - in fact, both of them - are not working. So we are working out different modes, how we will pass water," he specified. Earlier, the director reported that HPP-2 was in critical condition.

Sirota described the extent of the damage as "very large." "We can't even get to all the places to inspect," he added. "Today it is difficult to say how long it will take to rebuild it," the director pointed out.

He said experts expect to determine the extent of the damage and the timeframe for rebuilding by the end of the day. Sirota also said that the fire at the plant has been localized, but smoke is still visible.

The Dnieper HPP is the largest hydroelectric plant in Ukraine. In the early morning, traffic on the highway that crosses the plant's dam was completely restricted. Later, Ukrhydroenergo reported a fire at the Dnieper HPP.