Heating Cut Off for Thousands of Residents
First Major Strike on Large-Scale Power Infrastructure
Ahead of the Geneva talks on peace plans between the United States and Ukraine, Ukraine launched an airstrike near Moscow, the heart of Russia.
According to Russian authorities on the 23rd (local time), Ukrainian forces attacked a combined heat and power plant in the Shatura region of Moscow Oblast, Russia, using drones. The attack caused a massive fire at the power plant, cutting off heating supplies for thousands of residents.
It was reported that, in the early hours of the day, Ukrainian drones targeted the Shatura power plant, located about 120 kilometers east of the Kremlin. Videos posted on social media platforms such as Telegram showed flames and thick black smoke rising into the night sky.
On the 23rd (local time), flames and smoke soared around the Shatura power plant in Russia after it was attacked by Ukrainian drones. Photo by Reuters and Yonhap News Agency
Andrey Vorobyov, Governor of Moscow Oblast, stated, "Some of the drones were shot down by air defense forces, but several crashed in the vicinity of the power plant, causing a fire at the facility."
He added, "Emergency power is being supplied, and as temperatures are below freezing, mobile heating equipment is being deployed to the area. We are taking every measure to restore heating supplies as quickly as possible."
As the Russia-Ukraine war enters its fourth year, Russia has been focusing its attacks on Ukraine's power and heating infrastructure, while Ukraine has concentrated on destroying Russian oil refineries and pipelines.
Ukraine has mainly targeted power and heating facilities in Russian-occupied territories and Russian regions adjacent to Ukraine. However, until now, it had not inflicted significant damage on the large-scale infrastructure of Moscow and its surrounding areas, which have a combined population of over 22 million.
The Shatura power plant is one of the oldest power plants in Russia and now primarily operates on natural gas.
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that it had shot down 75 Ukrainian drones that day. Of these, 36 were intercepted over the Black Sea, while several others were shot down over Moscow Oblast.
Meanwhile, delegations from the United States, Ukraine, and Europe are set to meet in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss a draft of 28 peace plan items recently proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
The peace plan reportedly includes provisions such as Ukraine ceding the entire eastern Donbas region (Donetsk and Luhansk) to Russia and reducing the size of the Ukrainian military to 600,000 troops.
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