A Russian missile hit an underground natural gas storage station in western Ukraine on Sunday (March 24), the latest attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
Oleksiy Chernyshov, chief executive of Ukraine’s state gas company Naftogaz, said the attack had damaged equipment and that repairs were underway.
Chernyshov wrote on Facebook that “the situation will not seriously affect the operation of underground natural gas storage stations because natural gas is stored deep underground.”
He said, “Damaged surface infrastructure will need to be repaired. But there is ample spare capacity to mitigate any immediate impact,” adding that the company is meeting user needs.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an evening video address on Sunday that Russia’s large-scale attack had damaged Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
He said, “In the past week, from Monday to today, Russian terrorists have used nearly 190 missiles of different types and nearly 140 Witness drones. They have also launched about 700 air-guided bombs. This war has lasted two years For many years, there has not been a week without terror in Russia.”
Zelensky also said that power supply has been restored in some areas of Ukraine, and teams in the eastern city of Kharkiv are working non-stop to restore power and provide heat to people who have lost power. He said, “The situation is extremely difficult. There are more than 200,000 users in the city of Kharkiv and a local area, that is, apartments and houses, without stable power supply and will receive quite strict power supply arrangements.” The
The Ukrainian Ministry of Energy and Distributors said Ukraine stepped up power imports and stopped power exports on Sunday. DTEK, Ukraine’s largest energy company, lost 50% of its capabilities in recent Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that Russian air defense systems destroyed 22 Vampire missiles launched by Ukraine towards the Belgorod region of Russia.
Ukraine’s military said it launched an attack on the annexed Crimean peninsula on Sunday morning, hitting two large Russian landing ships as well as a communications center and other infrastructure used by Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. The statement did not state the manner of the attack.
A local Moscow-appointed official said that Ukraine launched a large-scale air strike and its air defense system shot down more than 10 missiles over the Crimean port of Sevastopol.
Sevastopol Mayor Mikhail Razvozhayev said on the Telegram messaging app that three houses were hit by debris, and a 65-year-old man was killed.
Razvozaev said transportation infrastructure, such as ferries and buses, was partially damaged.
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