Russia has reportedly launched its first targeted strike on a Ukrainian solar power facility amid a new wave of attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure.
Russia carried out the targeted attack on Wednesday according to Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, the head of Ukraine’s grid operator Ukrenergo, in comments made at a news conference and widely reported in Ukrainian media.
“The enemy targeted a solar power plant,” he said, describing the attack as the first of its kind.
Kudrytskyi did not specify the location of the attack but said that it was away from the front line of the conflict.
Russia has in recent weeks renewed its focus on destroying Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, pummelling it with hundreds of missiles and drones, although it typically targets thermal power plants.
Last month, however, Russian missiles struck the DniproHES hydroelectric dam, the largest in Ukraine, on the Dnipro river.
Ukraine’s state hydropower company, Ukrhydroenergo, recently reported that it has begun preparing an international legal claim against Russia over attacks on its facilities.
That includes the destruction last year of the Nova Kakhovka hydroelectric dam on the Dnipro River, which caused catastrophic flooding and hundreds of deaths. Russia had control over the dam when a massive breach occurred but denies responsibility for the attack.
Ukrainian officials reported in January that a GE turbine in Ukraine had been destroyed and a 100MW wind farm partially shut down following a “massive night attack” by Russian drones.
More recently, Ukraine’s energy ministry reported an unidentified wind farm had been shut down following a Russian drone attack, although it is unclear if it was specifically targeted or if any damage was sustained.
