Strikes on Dnipro Power Plant and Aid Site Highlight Civilian Toll of Russia’s Latest Missile Barrage
Cruise missiles slammed into Dnipro’s Prydniprovsky thermal power plant while another strike tore through an aid site in the city, where at least one person was killed and 17 injured as rescuers worked under threat of repeat attacks, Ukrainian reports say.
Dnipro has taken some of the heaviest blows in Russia’s latest overnight barrage, with both a major power plant and an aid site in the city struck in closely timed attacks.
Ukrainian military and local reporting said Kh‑101 cruise missiles hit the Prydniprovsky Thermal Power Plant in the early hours. Observers tracking the strike reported repeated impacts on the facility, and one assessment mentioned eight to ten cruise missiles hitting the plant before an all‑clear was declared. The site, referred to in various updates as the Prydniprovsky or “rydniprovsky” thermal power plant, is a key supplier of electricity and heat for Dnipro.
The same wave of attacks brought a separate strike on what Ukrainian authorities described as an aid site in the city. The regional administration initially reported that five people had been injured, including two men aged 80 and 81 in serious condition. A later update said the number of injured in the attack on Dnipro had risen to 15, with three men in serious condition, and stressed that the search‑and‑rescue operation at the site was complicated by a constant threat of repeat strikes.
Further reporting from the regional authorities then stated that one person had been confirmed dead and 17 injured. Officials said the body of the victim was trapped under debris and that emergency crews were trying to free it. Ukrainian sources added that one of the buildings in Dnipro was literally split in half by a hit.
The hit on Prydniprovsky Thermal Power Plant forms part of a wider Russian effort to damage Ukraine’s energy grid. Alongside the Dnipro strike, Ukrainian authorities reported that a substation of national grid operator Ukrenergo was damaged in Rivne region, and that energy infrastructure in Zhytomyr region was hit, leaving a large number of subscribers without power across about 130 settlements.
The missiles that reached Dnipro were tracked well before impact. Ukrainian observers reported four groups of Kh‑101 cruise missiles entering Ukrainian airspace via Luhansk region after being launched by a single Tu‑160 bomber. The missiles flew past Kharkiv region and over the Izyum area towards the border between Dnipropetrovsk and Poltava regions. At one point, observers noted about ten missiles moving slowly toward Dnipro from the northeast, then eight missiles at an altitude of around 300 metres some 40 kilometres from the city. Fighter jets were reported trying to shoot them down as explosions were heard over Dnipro.
For residents, the combined hit on an energy facility and an aid location underlines how different elements of civilian life are exposed at the same time. The power plant strike threatens electricity and heating in a major regional centre. The aid‑site strike, with elderly people among the wounded, shows how those who rely on humanitarian support are also at risk when such sites are targeted or hit in the course of wider attacks.
Key signs to watch in the coming days will be how quickly Prydniprovsky Thermal Power Plant can restore stable operations, whether casualty figures at the aid location change as more debris is cleared, and whether Dnipro faces further targeted strikes as Russia continues its campaign against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and cities.
Sources
- OSINT