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Russia is continuing its attacks on the Ukrainian energy grid.
Following a series of missile strikes on critical infrastructure, the Trypillya power plant near Kyiv has been destroyed. The power plant provided energy for several regions, including the Ukrainian capital itself, and was one of the country's largest electricity and heat providers.
People in the area have been told to prepare for a total shutdown of the grid.
Discussing the situation with President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, Russian President Vladimir Putin says the attacks are in response to Ukrainian strikes against Russian energy targets.
“Unfortunately, we have seen a series of attacks on our energy infrastructure lately. I want to emphasise that on humanitarian grounds we did not carry out any strikes during the winter, meaning that we did not want to leave social institutions, hospitals etc. without power supply. But after a series of strikes on our energy infrastructure, we had to respond.”
Reports say that at least another two power plants in the west of Ukraine suffered significant damage during the latest missile attacks.
Russia has been strategically targeting Ukraine's energy system, in an attempt to force a demilitarisation in Ukraine.
In late March, Russian forces had taken out another power plant in the Kharkhiv region, while a third, in Donetsk, had been taken over in the early stages of the invasion.
During a meeting of the United Nation's [[UN]] Security Council, the U-N's Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia, and the Americas Miroslav Jenca has called for an end to the indiscriminate attacks.
“Russian attacks on Ukrainians cities and towns have become a daily destructive pattern. This includes intense and systematic targeting of Ukrainian energy infrastructure across the country. We are appalled by the increase in civilian casualties as a result of these relentless attacks.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is seeking assistance from his nation's allies, attending the Three Seas Initiative summit in Lithuania.
Mr Zelenskyy signed a security pact with Latvia, making it the ninth country to ink a defence agreement with Ukraine.
He says his country needs more air defence systems as they attempt to develop their own.
“We don't have our own air defence comparable to Patriot, it just doesn't exist. I want to tell you that we need time. We need help from our partners. We won't need Patriot systems forever, we will definitely be able to produce our own systems, we started working on this. I believe we will be able to do it, but during this time we don't want to lose people.”
Mr Zelenskyy is also repeating his request that Ukraine be officially recognised as a member of the European Union.
“It is critical for European unity to confirm that the European Union is not afraid of itself and that NATO is not afraid of its own legitimate rules. Every nation in Europe that defends and shares the common values of Europe and the Euro-Atlantic space deserves to be a member of the European Union and the North Atlantic Alliance. This is a fact, and this fact should be confirmed by real actions.”
The recent attack by Russia comes just days after a series of strikes against the Zaporizhzhiya nuclear power plant in the southeast.
The facility has been under the watchful eye of the United Nations and its nuclear observer, the International Atomic Energy Agency, in the hope of avoiding a potential disaster if the facility is attacked.
In a meeting of its 35-nation Board of Directors, the I-A-E-A's Director General Rafael Grossi is calling for an end to relentless assaults on the facilities.
“On Sunday, direct attacks against a Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant marked a major escalation of the nuclear safety and security dangers in Ukraine, significantly increasing the risk of a nuclear accident. We are meeting today, and I will meet the United Nations Security Council next week, because it is of paramount importance to ensure these reckless attacks do not mark the beginning of a new and gravely dangerous front of the war.”
The UN's Miroslav Jenca has supported the calls made by the I-A-E-A's Director General.
“We join Director General Grossi in his call for the immediate cessation of such inexcusable attacks to avoid a major nuclear accident. No one can benefit, neither militarily nor politically, from attacking nuclear facilities. Instead, the consequences of a nuclear accident, whether intentional or not, could be catastrophic to us all.”
In a separate incident, Ukrainian Defence Forces have reported via Telegram that four people have been killed and at least five others injured in a Russian strike on the city on Mykolaiv in the country's south.
