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of War (ISW).
More than 130 energy infrastructure facilities have been targeted across the country over the last two days. The Dnipro HPP is the largest facility in Ukraine and was a key target, but dozens of other power stations have also been hit and damaged, according to reports.
The Dnipro HPP is now reported to be in a critical condition after its turbine room and electrical equipment were seriously damaged, director Igor Sirota reportedly said.
"We are losing the station. The HPP-2 is in danger. We don’t know at what capacity it will be able to operate. The HPP-2 is in critical condition. The HPP-1 has also stopped operations, so we are doing everything we can to raise the gates and process the water," Ukraine’s Strana media outlet quoted him as saying.
"We will have to fully rebuild the turbine room and repair electrical equipment," he added, noting that there was no threat of a dam break.
The current onslaught has sent residents of cities around Ukraine scuttling back into air raid shelters that haven’t been much used since the last assault on Ukraine’s power infrastructure in the winter of 2022.
The air defences provided by the US and European allies have proved so effective that bne IntelliNews’ correspondent in Kyiv reported the locals had become increasingly blasé about air raid siren alerts, often choosing to ignore them and continue going about their business. But that has changed dramatically in the few last days as the combination of falling levels of ammo and the sheer intensity of the attack have driven people underground again.
The skies are open again to a Russian assault that threatens to repeat the destruction of half the country's energy infrastructure, as occurred in the winter 2022 campaign. The Washington Post recently reported that the shortage of air defence ammo has become so acute that Kyiv may soon be limited to being able to shoot down only one in five inbound missiles.
"Russian strikes on energy infrastructure in early spring 2024 likely aim to collapse the energy grid in part to stall Ukrainian efforts to rapidly expand its (defence-industrial base)," the ISW said.
With international supplies of weapons falling off, Ukraine’s strategy is to become a military production hub and make more of the arms and ammo it needs at home. Depriving Ukraine of power will make that task a lot harder.
US calls on Ukraine to halt oil refinery attacks
Ukraine launched a counter-punch in February that is also designed to run down Russia’s ability to supply its forces and earn money to run its war
11 UKRAINE Country Report April 2024 www.intellinews.com