Largest thermal power plant in Ukraine destroyed in missile attack

The Zmiivska thermal power plant (TPP) in Ukraine's eastern Kharkiv region had been destroyed in a Russian missile attack, the media said, citing Ukrainian power generating company Centrenergo.

The missile strike on 22 March destroyed all the plant's units and damaged auxiliary equipment, Centrenergo said in a report.

At present, workers are still clearing the rubble at the site and there is no access to most of the plant's equipment, Xinhua news agency reported.

On 22 March, Russia fired 88 missiles and 63 Shahed combat drones at Ukraine, which Ukrainian authorities described as the largest strike on the country's energy infrastructure to date, the report added.

The Zmiivska TPP, which had a capacity of 2,200 MW, is the largest power generating facility in eastern Ukraine, local media reported.

The Russian Defence Ministry said on 22 March in a statement that the Russian military launched massive missile and drone attacks on energy and military facilities in Ukraine that day, and "all goals of the massive strike have been achieved".

Russia had contested the claims made by the United States that the Islamic State-Khorasan (ISIS-K) was the perpetrator of the 22 March attack on Moscow's Crocus City Hall, which killed nearly 140 people and left over 180 injured, some of them critically.