The attack is yet another target on civilian infrastructure, especially energy supplies, since the military defeat of the Russian army in Kharkiv province. With winter approaching, Moscow may be looking to disrupt the country’s energy supply.
According to the state nuclear energy company Energoatom, the rocket hit about 300 meters from the nuclear reactors. A video released by the Ukrainian army shows two large explosions taking place in quick succession on the grounds in Mykolaiv province. The attack, which took place shortly after midnight, forced a hydroelectric plant to be temporarily shut down. Energoatom published photos showing a sizeable crater in the terrain.
As he did before in the attacks on the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, President Volodymyr Zelensky used this missile attack to call for international action against Moscow. “Russia is endangering the whole world,” the Ukrainian president said. “We must stop Russia before it is too late.” The Pivdennooekrainsk nuclear power plant is located about 350 kilometers south of Kyiv and has never been involved in the battle before.
The international nuclear agency IAEA recently called for the area around the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, the largest in the country, to be demilitarized to prevent a nuclear accident. Russia, which owns the nuclear power plant, has so far refused to do so.
Attacks on infrastructure
Military experts suspect the Russian army is planning to shut down both nuclear plants by cutting off the electricity supply to the complex with the attacks. Shutting down the nuclear power stations could have major consequences for the population with the approaching winter. Since the withdrawal from the Kharkiv region, the Russian army has also launched air and missile strikes on power plants and a dam.
Russia did not respond Monday to the accusation that it had bombed the Pivdennoukrainsk nuclear power plant. President Vladimir Putin warned last Friday that attacks on infrastructure may be stepped up. “Recently, the Russian army has carried out a number of powerful attacks,” Putin said, referring to last week’s actions. “Let’s take that as a warning.”
According to the British Ministry of Defense, the Kremlin wants to deal a blow to the population and Kyiv by destroying crucial infrastructure. “It is an attempt to directly undermine the morale of the Ukrainian people and the government,” said London, pointing out that the attacks have no military use.
counteroffensive
The Ukrainian army, meanwhile, continues its offensive in the northeast. The Russians now have to fear that their positions in Luhansk province are in jeopardy. According to Luhansk governor Serhi Hajdaj, the Ukrainians occupied two important places. One of the two, Bilohorivka, is about 8 kilometers from Lysychansk. This city fell to Russian hands in July, causing the Ukrainian army to lose control of Luhansk, one of the two Donbas republics.
US President Joe Biden praised the Ukrainians on Monday for their recent battlefield victories. “They’re beating Russia,” Biden said in a TV interview. ‘Russia turns out not to be as competent and capable as many people had thought.’