 "Ukraine hits power station near Moscow in major drone strike, thousands left without heat")
Ukraine launched one of its most significant strikes deep inside Russia on Sunday, hitting a heat and power station in the Moscow region with drones. The attack ignited a large fire and left thousands without heating, marking a sharp escalation in Kyiv’s campaign against Russian energy infrastructure.
Now in the fourth year of Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two, Russia has intensified its assaults on Ukraine’s electricity and heating systems. Kyiv, meanwhile, has largely concentrated on disrupting Russia’s oil refineries, export terminals and pipelines.
But before dawn on Sunday, Ukrainian drones targeted the Shatura Power Station, located roughly 120 km (75 miles) east of the Kremlin, according to Moscow region governor Andrei Vorobyov.
Videos posted on Telegram showed flames and thick black smoke billowing into the night sky. Reuters verified the location but could not confirm when the footage was filmed.
“Some of the drones were destroyed by air-defence forces. Several fell on the territory of the station. A fire broke out at the facility,” Vorobyov said.
He added that backup power had been activated and mobile heating units were being moved into the area, where temperatures hovered around freezing. “All efforts are being taken to promptly restore heat supply,” he said. Shatura is home to about 33,000 people.
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View AllA local resident reported a complete loss of heating. Three transformers caught fire in the strike, the Kommersant newspaper reported, citing the emergencies ministry.
Russian attacks in recent months have repeatedly caused power and heating outages across Ukraine. Kyiv has sought to hit back by undermining Russia’s oil revenues and by striking energy installations in Russian-held Ukrainian territories and in Russian regions bordering Ukraine. Until now, however, it had not caused major damage to energy facilities serving Moscow and its wider region, home to more than 22 million people.
Russia’s defence ministry said it shot down 75 Ukrainian drones on Sunday, including 36 over the Black Sea and several near Moscow. Flights at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport were briefly suspended for about an hour.
The Shatura plant, one of Russia’s oldest power stations, was established after the Bolshevik Revolution under Vladimir Lenin. Once fuelled by peat, it now runs primarily on natural gas.
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