Popenko on the Darnytsia Thermal Power Plant: It is too early to speak of complete destruction, but the situation is critical
3 February 14:54
ЕКСКЛЮЗИВ
Following Russia’s massive missile and drone strike on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure on the night of February 2, reports of possible damage to the Darnytsia Thermal Power Plant in Kyiv remain unconfirmed.
Oleg Popenko, head of the Union of Utility Consumers, stated this in a comment to "Komersant Ukrainian".
According to him, there are currently no official technical findings confirming the complete destruction of the thermal power plant.
“There is no accurate information regarding the destruction of the CHP plant. There are only insinuations and reports claiming that the authorities must supposedly acknowledge the destruction of CHP-4. But there is a huge difference between a direct hit and complete destruction,” Popenko noted.
At the same time, he emphasized that the authorities do in fact acknowledge serious problems with heat supply on the left bank of the capital.
In particular, the head of the Darnytskyi District State Administration, Oleksandr Koltunov, stated that the heat supply situation in the district is critically dire. Approximately half of the Darnytskyi district’s heat is supplied by CHPP-4.
According to Popenko, a similar situation is also observed in the Dnipro district of Kyiv.
“The fact that restoring heat supply could take weeks is a fact. But I wouldn’t say that the Darnytsia CHP has been completely destroyed,” he emphasized.
The head of the Utility Consumers’ Union also noted that in other Ukrainian cities, combined heat and power plants have withstood multiple strikes and resumed operations afterward.
“Some CHP plants were hit 5–7 times, and they continued to operate. Therefore, talking about complete destruction is nonsense at this point. We are dealing with a very complex situation, but not with destruction,” Popenko noted.
According to him, it is too early to discuss estimated restoration timelines at this time.
“Only those who were directly at the site and conducted a technical inspection can say that. Only after that can any predictions be made,” the expert explained.
What is known about Russia’s attack on the night of February 3
On the night of February 3, Russia carried out its most powerful attack on Ukraine’s energy sector since the beginning of the year, DTEK reported. Power generation and distribution facilities in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, and the Odesa region were targeted.
The company noted that the power grid is operating with serious restrictions, and thousands of consumers have been left without power. Emergency power outages have been implemented in the Darnytskyi and Dniprovskyi districts of Kyiv following the shelling.
