DTEK workers trapped as Russia launches ‘devastating’ attack on Ukraine power plants

Massive air attack on Ukraine energy infrastructure leaves miners stuck underground

Ukrainian energy company DTEK has said that its thermal power plants in the country were today the target of a “devastating” attack by Russian forces.

More than a million Ukrainians were left with no electricity, at least five were killed and more than a dozen wounded in a blitz on energy infrastructure.

At the time of writing, two power station workers had been injured and assessments of potential further casualties were ongoing.

Massive air attack

DTEK said equipment at multiple plants was severely damaged in the “massive attack” on its facilities, including Ukraine’s biggest hydropower plant, DniproHES in Zaporizhzhia,

It claimed Russian forces had deployed a total of 151 methods of air attack, including drones, ballistic, cruise and anti-aircraft missiles.

One of the targets that was struck was a coal mine supplying fuel to DTEK’s thermal plants in the Dnipropetrovsk region. All power to the mine was cut, resulting in 1,060 miners being trapped underground.

Following the attack, DTEK implemented emergency response plans, switched on backup power and brought the miners to the surface. None were found to be injured.

In a statement, DTEK said its engineers “are working to restore power to mines once again using backup systems. No coal is currently being produced but we expect production to resume once the necessary preparatory work is completed.”

It added that its power plants have been hit more than 40 times this winter, and the total number of attacks since the invasion of Ukraine began now totalled more than 160.

This week, Ukraine’s state-owned hydropower company Ukrhydroenergo signed a deal with the European Investment Bank to rehabilitate three hydropower plants.

Earlier this year, DTEK announced ‘first power’ at two renewable energy plants in Romania – the company’s first projects outside Ukraine. Full story here.

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